Fruits Basket: The Others
by catlover001
Summary: What if there were people like the Sohma's? What if those people found each other, and then the Chinese Zodiac?
1. The Fox, the Eagle, and the Owl

****Chapter 1****

**Yukiko's POV:**

It's cold, but that's just the normal around here. I'm running with my pack, the icy wind stinging my eyes. I stop for a minute. There was something coming through the snow. I cautiously walked closer. It was...a human?

It's been years since I have seen another person, but people are bad. I pounce on her, forcing her to the ground. "If you don't get off of my land, you will pay," I growl at her. I suddenly realize that she couldn't understand me. I was still speaking in the arctic fox's tongue.

The girl laughed. I was expecting her to scream or something, but laughter was not something that most people did. "I finally found you," She whispered. I realized that she wasn't wearing a coat.

Then there was a small explosion. When the dark brown smoke cleared, I was on top of a bald eagle, not the girl. "I'm just like you," She whispered. Then she began to shiver violently. I quickly got her on my back and began to run toward the people's den, er, station.

I quickly got the girl inside and found a blanket. "There's extra clothes in the other room," She whispered as she closed her eyes. I nodded and slowly crept into the other room.

There were a lot of suitcases in this one room, plus a bed, window, and a dresser. I went over to the dresser and pulled it open with my teeth. There were many sizes of clothes inside. Suddenly, there another small explosion, but this time I was surrounded by white smoke with a slight blue tint to it. I stretched. It had been so long since I had been a human.

I threw on some clothes (a baggy pair of army pants and tank top) and walked back into the other room. "Hey, who are you?" I asked the girl, prodding her with my foot.

"I am Sakura Eagle. I came here...to find you." The eagle looked at me, it's eye shining. With another small explosion and more dark brown smoke, Sakura stood up, wrapping the blanket around her. "Excuse me while a go change." She said as she walked into the other room.

I looked out the window. I studied my reflection for a second. My white hair had gotten quite a bit longer (It was now down to my hips), but I still had that random blue streak that covered part of my face. My icy blue eye glinted with trouble against my deathly pale skin. I had a very strong build. I turned around and picked up the nearby table.

"I guess you're pretty strong, huh?" Sakura giggled. I turned to look at her.

Sakura had white bangs, but the rest of her hair was brown and pulled back into a ponytail. She had some of the darkest eyes I had ever seen, they were so dark brown that they were almost black. She wasn't very muscular, but she wasn't exactly thin either. Her skin was fairly pale, but not as pale as me.

"I guess," I grunted. I turned away from her.

"You know, there are others like us," She whispered. "Have you heard of the Chinese Zodiac?"

"Yeah. 12 other animals, plus the cat, right?" I asked. Sakura smiled.

"That's right. Like the cat, our animals were not included in the Zodiac. There are a lot more of us to. There's a zebra, giraffe, snowy owl, black mamba, lizard…" Sakura was cut off by something scratching at the door. I slowly opened the door. A blur of white shot past me at and pounced Sakura. It was an arctic fox pup.

"Fuz! Down Fuz, down!" I shouted. Sakura giggled as she pushed the little arctic fox pup off of her.

"That's alright," She said as she brushed herself off.

"Yukiko! I found you!" Fuz barked happily. I shook my head and picked him up.

"Are you two well acquainted?" Sakura asked.

"Pretty much,"

"He can come with us then," Sakura mumbled.

"Whoa, I never said I was going with you," I retorted. Sakura looked at me.

"Why not? You can come to school with me, we could live together, and-"

"I'm not going. This is my home,"

"But I know where we can find others like us. Forgotten animals. We won't be alone." Sakura whispered.

"I smell fear and sadness." Fuz growled. I looked at Sakura. She suddenly looked lost and hurt. I took a deep breath.

"Fine I'll go. Where are we heading?"

"To some mountains in Japan."

**Sakura's POV:**

"But first," I added. "We need to find another girl out here."

"There's another girl out here?"

"Yep. Oh, and by the way, I didn't catch your name."

"Yukiko. Yukiko Fox." I smiled at Yukiko.

"Okay Yukiko, bundle up!" I shouted.

Two hours later, we were still searching for the other girl. "How long is this going to take?!" Yukiko shouted. Fuz growled.

"As long as it needs to be." I retorted. I looked out. "She should be around…"

"AHHHH! GET IT OFF!" Yukiko screamed. I flipped around to find a beautiful Snowy Owl was attacking Yukiko with it's sharp claws.

"Hey, stop that!" I shouted. "Are you Akiko? Akiko Owl?" I suddenly asked. The owl looked at me.

"Yes." She whispered. I smiled at her.

"We know what you're going through. I'm the Eagle," I calmly told her. "Yukiko here is the Fox. We know what you're going through." Akiko cocked her head to the side.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked. I sighed and pulled off my winter gear. Within a few seconds, I turned into the Eagle.

"Believe us now?" Yukiko asked as she picked me up. Akiko nodded.

"Let's get her back before she freezes." She muttered.

A few minutes later I was fully clothed and once again human. I looked at Akiko. As a human, she had short wavy hair the color of snow with black speckles in it. She had beautiful yellow eyes that went very well with her peach skin.

Akiko took a sip of her tea. "So you want me to come with you two to Japan?" She asked. I nodded. "I'm in. There's nothing to do out here." Yukiko took a bite of her snow (She had insisted on not having tea).

"Great! The private jet will be here shortly to pick us up!" I said cheerfully.

"You have a jet?" Yukiko questioned.

"The people who are usually here borrowed it to get some supplies." I explained. "I can fly it myself."

"Okay then." Akiko said.

**Akiko's POV:**

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked Yukiko again.

"Of course I'm fine!" She barked. If possible, she was even more pale than before. Plus, Fuz was hiding under the seats, whimpering.

"Do you have a fear of heights or something?" Sakura called from the cockpit. Yukiko blushed.

"Aw, don't worry about it! I'm scared of water." I told Yukiko.

"And I'm scared of being left alone!" Sakura called. Yukiko sighed and slumped in her seat.

"How much longer?" She groaned.

"About an hour." Sakura answered.

"So where are we going to find this girl again?" I questioned.

"In the mountains. She's the Black Mamba, but her name is unknown." Yukiko reminded me.

"And why is she in the mountains?" I asked. Sakura put the jet on auto pilot and joined us in the lounge.

"Her parents abandoned her there, so she just lives up there, stealing clothes and food from campers. If needed, she is known to hunt down other animals." Sakura explained.

"And the police haven't caught her yet?" Yukiko asked in disbelief.

"Yep." A sound came from the cockpit. Sakura ran to it.

"What's up?" I called.

"Attention all passengers, we have reached our destination earlier than expected. Please fasten your seatbelts and hold on to your pets." Sakura said through the mic. Yukiko quickly grabbed Fuz.

"Um...Sakura? What's going on?" I called.

"Something flew into one of the engines. I'm gonna have to land this thing on one of the nearby islands." Sakura said calmly?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LAND THIS THING?! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Yukiko screamed.

"Oh please, I'm one of the best pilots there are. We. Are. Not. Going. To. Die!" Sakura scolded.

I quickly tightened my seatbelt and began to pray. Something exploded. "Engine number two is down! Hold on tight!" Sakura screamed. I squeezed my eyes tightly. I heard Sakura unfasten her seatbelt.

"What are you doing?!" Yukiko screamed. I opened my eyes to find Sakura standing in front of me, frozen in horror. She suddenly screamed, then turned into an eagle. I looked around her. Yukiko had turned into an arctic fox out of panic.

"Akiko! You need to change!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Yukiko and Fuz with her feet.

"What?! How!?" I yelled.

"We're going to fall into the ocean! You hear me?! The ocean! Tons of water with who knows what in it!" Sakura yelled. I felt my heart quicken its pace. Water? We're crashing into water?! In a puff of grey smoke, I turned into an owl.

"I'll take Fuz!" I yelled. Sakura nodded and dropped the pup. I quickly scooped him up and followed Sakura out of the emergency exit.

I watched as the plane continued to fall. "What about everything that was inside it?" I called to Sakura.

"Don't worry! My suitcases are waterproof and have flotation devices in them!" She called back. Together, we quickly began to fly toward the closest island.

"Land! Sweet land!" Yukiko cried as Sakura placed her on the ground. I dropped Fuz on top of Yukiko and landed myself.

"Okay, we survived, but what now?" I asked.

"I'll go back out and get the luggage." Sakura said.

"But what if you change back?"

"Then I'll make myself change back. It's easy to do when you're scared out of your mind." Sakura took off.

I turned my head around to find Yukiko licking the sand. "You do realize that stuff is probably covered in fish waste, right?" I asked. Yukiko glared at me, then began to spit.

"You could have told me BEFORE I started doing that!" She barked. I just sighed and looked out to the ocean. I could see Sakura in the distance, trying her best to fly while holding the suitcase. I would follow her, but I knew that if I changed back, I wouldn't be much help.

Behind me, Yukiko growled as she turned back. "Where's Sakura?" She demanded.

"Right here." She answered. She dropped two suitcases and flew off again. I heard Yukiko quickly open one of the suitcases up and the ruffling of clothes as she searched through them.

"Your turn Akiko," She said. I turned around and saw that she had chosen another pair of baggy camo pants with another black tank top. I began to pick through the clothes myself, eventually picking out a pair of jean shorts and a tank top that would leave my stomach exposed.

"These should be the last of them," Sakura grunted as she dropped three more suitcases.

"What do we do now?" Yukiko asked. I nodded.

"Well, we wait for Akiko and I to change back, then we go looking for help. If we can't find any, then we'll swim," Sakura said. At that moment, she and I both turned back. We quickly changed, Sakura picking out a mini skirt and a really tight fitting tank top.

"Thanks again!" Sakura yelled.

"No problem!" The old fisherman said as he rowed away. We all looked at the city in front of us.

"Okay, the mountains should be...that way!" Sakura said as she walked off. I quickly put on the walking shoes she had given me and followed. Yukiko sighed and followed us, kicking up sand with her army boots.

"How are we going to find this Black Mamba girl when she can't be caught?" She questioned.

"Simple, we'll just camp out. She'll come around eventually and try to steal some of our food. When she does, Yukiko can tackle her," Sakura explained. She stopped to look at a train schedule. "Hmmm...if we can catch the 4 o'clock, that should take us right to the base of the mountains, where we can hike up to here…" I turned away as she continued to mumble to herself.

"So, what are we going to do for food?" Yukiko whispered to me.

"Beats me. Sakura's the one with the plan," I whispered back.

"Where do you think she gets all of that cash?"

"I have no idea, but I get the feeling she won't want to talk about it,"

"I wonder if she stole it from somewhere," Yukiko muttered.

"What did I steal?" Sakura asked suddenly. I jumped. That girl was really quite for someone who was wearing heels.

"Nothing!" Yukiko and I shouted. Sakura laughed.

"Come on, I know a great place to eat!" She called. I looked at Yukiko and shrugged, running after Sakura.

"That was the best meal I have had in a long time." I yawned as we walked out of the restaurant. Sakura smiled.

"I'm glad you liked it." She said as we walked in front of a grocery store. "Hmmm...we might want to buy a few things for our camping trip." She mumbled. Yukiko groaned.

"Let's just get it over with." She mumbled.

"What, don't like shopping?" I questioned.

"No, I hate places with a lot of people, if you know what I mean." Sakura nodded.

"We'll have to be careful, that's for sure." She whispered. We began to roam the store.

**Sakura's POV:**

"Let's see, we'll need some carrots, apples, ham…" I began to list off the things we would need for our trip.

"How about some fish?" Akiko asked. I looked at the fish.

"They look good, but they're a bit-" I stopped talking and stared for a moment. "Well, that's a strange hair color." I whispered. Akiko and Yukiko followed my gaze.

A few feet to the left were a boy and girl our age. The boy had purple hair and eyes, while the girl had brown hair and and brown eyes. "I've never seen so many different kinds of seeds!" The girl exclaimed. The boy smiled.

"I agree. What would you like to plant this season Miss Honda?" I glanced at Yukiko and Akiko. They looked at me and shrugged. The boy was probably wearing color contacts and had dyed his hair.

The janitor came out and began to mop the floor. "Hey, we better get going." Yukiko said with a glance at a clock. I glanced at it to. It was three forty-five.

"We're going to miss our train!" I gasped. I grabbed the fish and began to run.

"Sakura-"Akiko shouted to late. I ran onto the wet floor, slipping right towards the purple-haired boy. Oh no.

"Look out!" I shouted.

"Sohma-cun!" The girl shouted. I ran into the boy, arms flying around him. I waited to transform into the eagle. Nothing happened.

"S-s-sorry." I stuttered. I quickly stood, grabbed the food and headed towards check out. I could feel the boy's eyes on my back.

"Wait!" He called. I began to walk faster. Akiko and Yukiko quickly followed, grabbing food off the shelves. I glanced over my shoulder. The girl was looking at me, and the boy had just gotten up and was beginning to follow us.

"Run!" I whispered to the others. They nodded, and we made a break for it. We rushed through check-out and out into the street, heading for the train station.

"He's still following us!" Yukiko yelled.

"How is he so fast?!" Akiko questioned.

"Doesn't matter. If we can get to the station, we'll be okay!" I yelled.

"Hey Rat Boy, what are you running from?" Someone called. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a guy with bright orange hair and eyes.

"I'm trying to catch those girls." The purple headed boy said while stopping. I grabbed Yukiko and Akiko and pulled them into an alley. I put my fingers to my lips and carefully looked around the corner. Orange-head and Purple-head were just within an arms reach, looking for us.

"They got away." Purple-head sighed.

"Why were you chasing a bunch of girls anyway?" Orange-head questioned.

"The one with the white bangs...she hugged me and nothing happened." Orange-head looked at Purple-head.

"Should we tell Shigure?" Orange-head asked.

"No."

"Wait, what's this?" Orange-head said as he walked closer. I pushed back, trying to hide in the shadows. "Looks like those girls dropped something." Orange-head picked up one of our bags.

"What is it?" Orange-head dropped the bag, disgusted.

"It's a bunch of leak and miso!" Orange-head shouted.

"That's it!" Yukiko shouted. She jumped from where she was hiding and slammed Orange-head into the wall. Purple-head had just realized what was going on when she punched him in the gut, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and dragged him by a dumpster and through him into it.

"Well, that's how we take care of that…" I stated as I picked up the bag.

"That might come back to bite us in the butt." Akiko mumbled as she prodded Orange-head with her foot.

"Let's get going before they can get back up." Yukiko grumbled. I looked at the dumpster, then ran to catch up with Yukiko and Akiko.

"Why didn't I transform when I hugged Purple-head back there?" I whispered to Yukiko and Akiko as we boarded the train. Yukiko shrugged.

"Maybe that guy was actually a girl crossdressing." She said. Akiko laughed.

"There is no way that guy was a girl...though he could pretend to be a girl if he wanted." I thought for a moment.

"Orange-head called him Rat Boy," I whispered. I looked at Yukiko and Akiko. "Do you think that guy is part of the Chinese Zodiac?"

"Doesn't matter. They're long gone." Yukiko said as we sat down.

"I guess that's true. How long of a train ride is this?" Akiko asked.

"About an hour and a half. The mountain isn't too far away from the station, and it's a two mile hike to the camp grounds." I yawned. Today had been a busy day.

"Do we even have a tent?" Yukiko asked. I sighed.

"No, but there is a camping store at the station." I explained. A few minutes went by in silence.

"Hey, don't we know him?" Akiko whispered. I turned around and saw a familiar head of orange hair.

"How did he…?" I started. Yukiko stood up and walked past Orange-head, who saw her and followed.

"Oh no…" Akiko and I mumbled. Yukiko came back a few minutes later.

"What did you do?" Akiko asked.

"I threw him off the train."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I whispered-yelled.

"He'll survive. I threw him into a pole. It was pretty funny." I sighed. Yukiko was...how do you say it...very aggressive.

"Okay, from now on we don't try to kill people." I said. Yukiko leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

"Fine. I'm going to sleep now."

"Me too." Akiko whispered.

**Yukiko's POV:**

"Yukiko, wake up!" Akiko shouted in my ear. I opened my eyes and smacked her upside the head. "OW!"

"You deserved it." I groaned.

"We're here!" Sakura announced. I looked out the window.

"That is a huge mountain." I mumbled.

"Yep! And somewhere up there is a wild girl who randomly steals people's food." Akiko laughed.

"Well, we're not going to catch her unless we get up there! Let's go!" Sakura yelled.


	2. The Ferret and Mustang

**Chapter 2**

**Sakura's POV:**

"WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR THREE DAYS!" Yukiko yelled yet again.

"We are not leaving until we find her!" I yelled back at her.

"Sakura, Fuz is biting me again!" Akiko whined. I ran over to her and tried to pry the small pup's teeth from her leg.

"Yukiko, get him off of her!" I shouted.

"It's not his fault! He's sick of hunting birds and squirrels all the time!" Yukiko shouted back. Fuz finally let go of Akiko and ran off into the woods. I pulled out the first aid kit...again.

"How much longer will we be up here?" Akiko asked. I shrugged.

"Until we find the girl. I spent two weeks trying to find you two." I said softly. Yukiko groaned in frustration.

"How do we know that we're on the right side of the mountain anyway?" She yelled.

"Every time someone loses food, it's around here." I said as I finished bandaging Akiko's leg.

"What should we do? We've already tried all of the meat, and she didn't come!" Akiko mumbled.

"Well, we have enough food to make a veggie stew. Let's try that, and if it doesn't work, we'll try another campsite." I said. Yukiko groaned.

"I've never had a meal without meat." She complained.

"Then have Fuz get you a squirrel or something!" I shot back. Yukiko rolled her eyes and began to speak to Fuz. I rolled my eyes and began to make the stew.

"Sakura?" Akiko whispered. "Are you sure we can find her?" I looked at Akiko.

"Whenever I have looked for one of the Forgotten, I have never EVER left one behind. I have contacts with every single one of them around the world." Akiko looked at me.

"Why have you been around the world?"

"I wanted to get away from home. End of story." I turned away from her and continued to cook dinner. I slowly chopped the veggies and added them to the broth.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm taking a nap." Yukiko yawned.

"A nap sounds like a good idea." Akiko agreed. I nodded and walked into my tent. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

**Yukiko's POV:**

"Intruder! Intruder! Intruder! Kill! Kill! Kill!" Fuz howled. I bolted out of my tent just in time to see a girl run off with our pot of stew. Fuz was close behind her, howling as he ran.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" I screamed. I broke into a run, determined to catch that dang bandit.

"Die! Die! Die!" Fuz barked as the girl screamed.

"Get off me you stupid mutt! Hey, come back here with that!" The girl called. I broke through the trees just in time to see another girl pick up the pot. The first girl was on the ground with Fuz on top of her.

I tackled the second girl to the ground. "Hey!" She yelled. She looked at me, her dark brown eyes (though they weren't nearly as dark as Sakura's) glinted in the sunlight. She had short, dark brown hair that barely brushed her shoulder and slightly tanned skin. She wore a grubby t-shirt that exposed her stomach and a pair of jean shorts. She wore no shoes, but she did have a piercing on her belly button.

"Who are you?" I growled.

"Nabuko Mustang," She said with a glare. "And if you don't get off me, you're in for a world of pain." At that moment, Sakura and Akiko came crashing through the trees. Sakura glance at me, then at Fuz and the other girl, then back at me.

"Okay, Fuz has the girl who can change. Who's this?" She asked.

"I'm Nabuko Mustang!" Nabuko yelled. Sakura helped the other girl up. This girl also wore a grubby t-shirt and shorts, but her shirt completely covered her. She had long, oily, black hair and her eyes were nearly black. She had her eyebrow pierced to.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked the girl.

"Yeah. I'm Kura Ferret. How did you know that I could…?" Sakura smiled.

"I'm Sakura Eagle. This is Akiko Owl and Yukiko Fox," Kura looked at me.

"Sorry about the stew. It's been a few days since I've eaten," I shrugged and stood up, clenching Nabuko's shirt in my hand.

"Don't do it again!" I snapped. I looked at Nabuko. "As for you…"

"Are you people just like me?" Nabuko asked suddenly. I looked at her. "You know...something from birth...it includes animals?" Sakura studied Nabuko.

"Are you saying you're the Mustang?" She whispered. Nabuko nodded. "How did you get here?"

"My parents abandoned me, just like Kura. I have a twin sister who is...is the Horse from the Chinese Zodiac," Nabuko stared at the ground. "They kept her, proud that she was the Horse. They left me here to die because of...our condition," I nodded, knowing what she meant. I fingered my earings.

"I understand," Sakura said as she placed a hand on Nabuko's shoulder.

"How about we head back to camp and eat the stew? We can discuss what our next move is from there," Akiko offered. Kura and Nabuko nodded and soon we were back at camp. Sakura dished out the stew and we sat down.

"So, what are you people doing here anyway?" Nabuko asked with her mouth full.

"We were looking for Kura, but now that we've found both of you, we have a question to ask," Sakura explained.

"And what may that question be?" Kura asked.

"Would you like to come live with us?" There was a silence.

"I've grown up here my whole life," Kura whispered. "I've always wanted a different life than this one. I've always wanted to see the city and live in a real house and be able to be clean everyday…"

"I don't know," Nabuko whispered. "If I ran into my family, I'm not sure if I could stand it. My own parents disowned me! I can't even use the family name,"

"Well, would you care to try for a little while?" Sakura asked Nabuko. Nabuko thought for a minute then nodded.

"So, where are we going to live? Tokyo!?" Kura asked excitedly. Sakura nodded.

"Tokyo is the only place that has a big enough home for the five of us, but we will have to be careful. You might not know this, but when we're hugged by someone of the opposite sex, we turn into our animals," Kura looked at us.

"That's not true. I stole some guy's rice and he tackled me. I didn't transform." Nabuko shot back.

"Guess what genius? When someone who has the curse, we transform to. That guy was either one of the Zodiac, or cursed like us." I growled. Nabuko shrugged. Akiko began to pace.

"What's on your mind?" Kura questioned.

"Nabuko and the Horse. Aren't mustangs and horses the same animal?" Nabuko sighed.

"At the time of the feast, the Horse had split personalities. One wanted to go to the feast, but the other wanted to run wild. God, knowing that the Horse couldn't decided for herself, split her in half, creating the Mustang. We may be the same, but the Horse is tame and Mustangs are wild." Nabuko explained.

"That explains a lot," I mumbled. Sakura collected the dishes and began to pack up. She pulled out a bus schedule and a list of stores in Tokyo.

"Okay, if we can catch the seven o'clock train, then we can stop the grocery store again and then catch the eight thirty train…" I tuned Sakura out and began to pack up my own things.

"It's going to be nice to take a hot bath!" Kura yawned as she stretched. I looked at her.

"When was the last time you took a bath?" Akiko asked.

"Um...four...five months ago?" Kura thought.

"I'm not sitting next to her on the train." I stated.

"Okay, next train leaves in thirty minutes! Let's go!" Sakura announced.

"But it's an hour hike…" Akiko reminded.

"Not when you're running downhill on a Mustang." At that point, Nabuko began to cough, resulting in her turning into the Mustang.

"What did you do?!" Nabuko shouted.

"I wiped you bowl with a minor bacteria." Sakura said as she pulled on her backpack. Nabuko groaned.

"I am **not** getting on her!" I shouted as I took off.

**Akiko's POV:**

"This. House. Is. HUGE!" I shouted. The house was three stories tall and about 64 meters wide and 50 meters long. The area itself was 9 acres big.

"Why did you get a mansion when there's only five of us?" Yukiko asked.

"First of all, it's not a mansion; it's just a bigger house," Sakura explained. "Second of all, people around the world are going to be coming from time to time."

"It's still a mansion." Yukiko stated.

"Okay! Let's go inside and claim our rooms!" Nabuko cried. Sakura unlocked the door and stepped out of the way just in time to avoid Yukiko and Nabuko racing inside.

"How much do you want to bet Yukiko got the biggest room?" Kura asked.

"I bet 5866.77 yen that Nabuko beat Yukiko." I challenged. Sakura smiled.

"The Mustang can run extremely fast, but the Fox has extreme hunting abilities and can calculate how and when it's prey will get to a certain location." She explained as she walked into the house. I pursed my lips. 5866.77 yen was about 50 American dollars, and I had neither.

We walked into the house and shut the door behind us. Parts of the walls were missing, there were cobwebs everywhere, and I'm pretty sure I heard a bunch of rats. "This is where we're going to live?" Kura asked uncertainly. Sakura nodded.

"We'll just need to fix...everything and fix the air conditioning so it can be different in every room. Good news is that our only neighbors are far away and tend to keep to themselves. They even have three teenagers our age."

"That sounds...nice…" I mumbled.

"Hey! Get me out of here!" Nabuko's voice came from above. The three of us ran up the stairs to find Nabuko stuck in the floor.

"Oh...my...gosh...what happened?" Kura asked.

"Yukiko tackled me and I went through the floor! Get me out!" Nabuko snapped.

"I got the biggest room!" Yukiko shouted from the end of the hall.

"Okay, I'm going to need a saw and a mattress." Sakura said as she examined the floor. Yukiko came out of her newly claimed room. We could here Fuz attacking something...hard.

"What for?" Yukiko asked.

"The mattress is for in case she falls, and the saw is to cut the wood." Sakura explained. Yukiko walked over to Nabuko, examined the floor, then punched it as hard as she could.

Nabuko screamed as the floor broke and she fell to the floor below. "Not cool!" She shouted. Yukiko thought for a second, then ran back to her room. She came back with Fuz, was had a dead rat in his jaws.

"Fuz, attack!" Yukiko yelled as she dropped the arctic fox down the hole. We heard growling, then shouting, then a bunch of clamor.

"...That's one way to take care of that…" I mumbled. Sakura nodded, then pulled out a notepad.

"Okay, we have a week before we need to get to the school, the uniforms should come in the next two days, and with our...capabilities...we could get this house into shape in three to four days. Then it's the matter of tutoring you all in a week…"

"Tutor? Why tutor us? Isn't that the point of school?" Kura asked.

"Yes, but if you want to go to high school you need to be smart enough to get in." Sakura explained. Yukiko looked at Sakura.

"There is no way in the name of the Zodiac I am wearing a skirt." She declared.

"I know. Now let's get this place fixed up!"

**Kura's POV:**

I yawned and sat down on the couch. "Are we done yet?" I groaned. Sakura shut her book and nodded.

"I believe I have caught you all up on everything you need to know." She said. Yukiko groaned as she stretched on the bean bag.

"I never want to go through all of that ever again!" She yelled. I rolled my eyes. Like any of us wanted to.

It had taken three days to completely fix the house. Each room had it's own air conditioning/heating system, we had tons of extra guest bedrooms, and we had a kitchen full of food.

The room we were in now had been painted green and had been carefully arranged with furniture. We had a small coffee table by couch, an armchair, a huge bean bag, a TV, a few lamps here and there, and a rug under the couch. The kitchen had been supplied with the latest cooking utensils, and then each of us had gotten to completely personalize our rooms.

Yukiko had no carpet whatsoever in her room (unless you count her closest and Fuz's corner), a huge fluffy bed with memory foam pillows and pure white sheets, a mini fridge full of food (for her and Fuz), a huge closet with a dresser in it, a big white bean bag in the corner, and a white desk with a cushioned, white chair with wheels. She always kept her room really cold, and the walls, curtains, and door were white too...pretty much everything was white.

Sakura had found a pretty brown carpet for her room and had picked out a medium sized bed with a memory foam mattress and pillows. She had chosen a room with a high roof and had painted the walls cream. She had a chestnut desk with a computer and a normal wooden chair. All of the clothes she owned were hanging in the closet (except her underwear and shoes. They were in the small dresser) and she had a bunch of bars drilled into the walls that she practiced gymnastics on all the time.

Nabuko had gotten a dark brown and fluffy carpet, a medium bed sized bed with a memory foam mattress and pillows with dark brown sheets. She had painted the walls so it looked like the mountains she had grown up on. She had gotten a bunch of speakers wired and had been working on her playlist in all of her free time. She had thrown all of her clothes into a dresser in the closet and had cabinets full of art supplies. A punching bag hung from the ceiling and she loved to punch it.

Akiko's room had super fluffy and grey carpet and light blue walls. She had a large bed with a sturdy mattress and sturdy pillows. She had an oak desk with a matching chair that had stacks of drawings on it already. Her window could be opened on both sides (she liked to sneak out at night) and she had secret drawers everywhere. Her room was also very cold

My room had no carpet and I had painted the walls beige. I had the biggest bean bag ever as a bed with a few blankets off to the side. My closet was a mess of clothes, I already had a bunch of soda cans around the room. I had a desk, but it was already covered in trash and old food. I had a stash of candy in the closet, but I already lost it. I also kept my room very warm.

We walked into the kitchen. "So, are we going to school tomorrow?" Akiko asked.

"No der. We tried the uniforms on yesterday." Yukiko growled. Sakura sighed as she pulled out some food.

"We know. It took us three hours or more to get in the shirt alone!" I shouted at Yukiko. Yukiko chuckled.

"I won though." She muttered as she grabbed some meat. I rolled my eyes and grabbed an apple.

"Kinda strange that the neighbors haven't come to greet us yet…" Akiko mumbled as she ate a sandwich. Sakura shrugged.

"It's better that they didn't. They would ask to meet our parents, and three of the neighbors are male, so that would be a problem if they hugged us." Nabuko growled.

"Still, it's polite to greet new neighbors and bring them food." She said.

"You just want fried rice." Yukiko laughed. Nabuko glared at her.

"It was hard to get fried rice in the mountain, and I really like it, okay?!" She shouted. Sakura smiled softly and picked up a peach.

"Anyway, we have to remember to be careful. The high school is for girls and guys, not to mention their is a small chance we might run into the Chinese Zodiac." Sakura said as she peeled her peach. Nabuko stared at the counter.

"You mean my family is here?" She whispered. Sakura shrugged.

"I know they live in the Tokyo area, I just don't know if it's this area."

"If I do see them, I've going to beat the tar out of my sister." Nabuko left the kitchen.

"Tomorrow's going to be very...interesting…" Akiko commented.

**Yukiko's POV:**

"Yukiko Fox, if you don't get out of bed right now I will drag you into a bath full of boiling water!" Sakura yelled. I groaned and finally sat up.

"I'm up! I'm up! Jeez woman…" I muttered as I pulled on my uniform. I had refused to wear a skirt, so now I was wearing the girl's shirt and the boy's pants. I grabbed Fuz.

"Time to hide?" He whimpered. I nodded, then allowed him to jump in my hair.

"Be good, or I won't sneak you any lunch!" I warned him.

"Yukiko! Get out here! We're going to be late!" Akiko shouted.

"I'm coming!" I shouted. I swung the door open and barreled past Akiko, down the stairs, and to the kitchen. Sakura was finishing making everybody's lunches.

"Did you remember to pack extra meat for Fuz?" I asked. Sakura nodded and handed me the paper bag.

"I'll buy real lunchboxes later." She mumbled as she continued to clean up.

"Come on! Let's go people!" Nabuko shouted. The others grabbed their lunches, and soon we were walking to school.

"Remember our story; we're all cousins with the same last name. Our last name is Forgotten, and our parents are always traveling the world." Sakura instructed. "If anybody asks where they are, just shrug and tell them you don't know. Stay away from guys at all costs, and whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourselves!" Akiko stopped in her tracks and grabbed Sakura's arm along with mine.

"Don't we know them?" She said as she pointed to a group near the school. I looked and saw the guy with purple hair, the guy who I threw off the train, the girl from the store, and two other girls.

"How the crap is this possible?!" I growled.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Fuz growled in my ear.

"No Fuz!" I shouted at him.

"What's the big deal?" Nabuko asked. Sakura sighed.

"A few days before we found you, I slipped and accidentally hugged Purple-Head over there, but I didn't transform. We ran off, but he followed us along with Orange-Head. Yukiko dumped Purple-Head in a dumpster and threw Orange-Head off a train." She explained.

"That sounds right." Kura mumbled. I grinned.

"Maybe we can just sneak by them." Akiko suggested. We all nodded, then quickly began to walk towards the exit. We passed by them, then entered the building.

"Looks like they didn't notice us…" Sakura mumbled.

"Excuse me." Sakura whipped around and came face-to-face with Purple-Head.

"Crap." Kura mumbled. Orange-Head walked up. He glared at me, then looked at Sakura.

"You're that girl who ran into me at the store." Purple-Head declared. I looked at Orange-Head.

"How did you like the pole?" I asked. Orange-Head's face began to turn red. I turned to Purple-Head. "And how did you like the dumpster?" Purple-Head winced a bit.

"It was disgusting!" He shouted. I laughed. At that moment, Orange-Head saw Nabuko.

"Hey! You're that damn girl who stole my fried rice!" He shouted. Nabuko braced herself as Orange-Head prepared to punch her. Just as his fist was about to hit her face, I grabbed his wrist.

"Oh no…" Akiko mumbled.

"Did you just try to **hit** her?" I growled. I began to squeeze his wrist. Orange-Head's face twisted in pain.

"Yes…" He muttered. He freed his hand, then punched me in the gut. I blinked.

"You hit like a girl. You need to learn to hit harder, like this!" I yelled. I punched Orange-Head, sending him flying through a wall, then a window.

"K-K-Kyo!" The girl with brown hair shouted. Sakura sighed.

"Yukiko, I hope you didn't kill him." Sakura called. I popped my neck, then jumped through the hole in the wall and window onto Orange-He...er...Kyo.

"Don't worry. She won't kill him...yet…" Kura attempted to comfort the girl. She paled even more. I grabbed Kyo's shirt and punched him in the face.

"So, what are your names?" Nabuko asked Purple-Head and the three girls.

"Oh! I'm Tohru Honda!" The girl with brown hair exclaimed.

"I'm Arisa Uotani, but call call me Uo-chan." The girl with blonde hair said.

"And I am Saki Hanajima. Please, call me Hana-san." The girl with black hair said. I picked up Kyo by his collar and through him through another wall.

"My name is Yuki Sohma." Purple-Head introduced. I jumped through the hole in the wall and picked up Kyo by his collar again.

"If you ever, _**ever**_, try to hurt one of my...cousins again, I will kill you." I growled.

"Hold it right there!" I whipped around and came face to face with a woman. "What's your name?" She demanded.

"Sensei…" Yuki started. The woman ignored him and looked at me.

"I'm Yukiko Forgotten." I told her.

"So you're one of my new students? To the faculty room, now!" I nodded and began to follow her.

**Tohru's POV:**

I watched as the girl with white hair, Yukiko, followed Sensei to the faculty room. The girl with brown hair and white bangs sighed. "Class hasn't even started and she's already gotten herself into trouble…"

"Is Orange Top over there going to be alright?" Uo-chan asked as she prodded him with her foot. The girl with grey hair with black dots shrugged.

"Beats me. She threw him off a train into a metal pole a week and a half ago, so...maybe?" She considered. The girl with dark brown hair and snickered.

"I wish I had been there to see that!" She howled.

"Umm...may I ask what your names are?" I asked. The girls looked at me. "I'm sorry! If you don't want to tell me that's fine…"

"I'm Sakura Forgotten." The girl with white bangs explained.

"Nabuko Forgotten." The girl with dark brown hair huffed.

"Name's Kura Forgotten." The girl with long black hair explained.

"And I'm Akiko Forgotten." The girl with grey hair explained.

"Well, we have to go help Yukiko out of her mess...again…" Sakura said as she walked off, her cousins following.

"I wonder where they came from." Uo-chan wondered out loud. A few girls were trying to clean up the broken glass and smashed wall. Kyo groaned and slowly stood up.

"I'm going to kill that girl." He muttered. Uo-chan and Hana-san walked off.

"I agree with Uo-chan; where did those girls come from?" Sohma-cun wondered.

"Didn't that girl...Sakura...hug you and you didn't transform?" I nodded.

"But aren't all the animals in the Zodiac born into the Sohma family?" I asked. Kyo nodded.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I finished cleaning the kitchen. It had gotten a bit dirty, but now it was clean again and there was a kettle of tea boiling. Now I just needed to prepare dinner.

"Hi Tohru!" Shigure called as he walked in.

"Hello Shigure-san!" Shigure helped himself to some tea.

"Oh, I forgot to mention; we have new neighbors! We've had them for a few weeks now, and they're all high school girls!" There was a silence.

"OH NO! WHAT MUST THEY THINK OF US?! WE HAVEN'T COME TO VISIT ANYTHING! FOOD! WE NEED TO BRING THEM FOOD!" I shrieked as I looked around nervously. Shigure was chuckling a bit. "HERE! I CAN TAKE THEM THESE COOKIES!" I shouted as I placed the cookies on the plate. "Goodbye!" I called as I ran out of the house. I was at the road when I remembered that I didn't know where they lived.

"Tohru! They live just down the road over there!" Shigure called. I waved and took off in the direction Shigure had pointed.

**Yuki's POV:**

I walked into the house from tending the garden. I looked around, only to see that stupid cat was home. "Where's Miss Honda?" I asked. Kyo shrugged.

"Beats the heck out of me. She wasn't here when I got home from the dojo, and she doesn't have work today." At that moment, Shigure walked into the room.

"Well, it looks like we have to fend for ourselves tonight. Tohru is staying over at the neighbors for dinner tonight." He sighed as he pulled out the take out menu.

"Wait, we have neighbors?" Kyo asked. Shigure nodded.

"We've had them for a while. From what I've heard, their guardians travel around a lot, so it's just the five girls by themselves." I glanced at Kyo. Five girls?

"Hey, are those girls in high school?" Kyo asked. Shigure smiled.

"Yes!" He cheered. Kyo and I exchanged glances. Miss Honda had gone to visit the five girls from earlier.

That stupid cat and I ran out of the house and down the road. We stopped right in front of a huge house. "This better be the place." Kyo mumbled. I glanced at the woods. It felt like we were being watched. We walked up the path. Just as we were about to step on the porch, Nabuko came running from the woods, as fast as Rin. She stopped right in front of us.

"What do you want?" She growled. I heard more growling, and turned my head to see Yukiko walking around the house with an...arctic fox?

"Well, this is going to be fun!" Yukiko said as she popped her neck. The fox growled at us. Kyo popped his knuckles.

"You're in for a world of pain!" He shouted. Before he could even more, something fell on top of him.

"Thanks for breaking my fall!" Kura smirked. I looked up. Did she really just jumped out of the third story window? Kyo grunted and stood up, Kura jumping off of his back in the nick of time.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Kyo shouted. At that moment, Akiko, Sakura, and Tohru walked out the door.

"What are you three doing?" Sakura asked, unsurprised.

"We're guarding the house." Yukiko grunted. Sakura face palmed and sighed.

"Why would you guard the house?" She questioned.

"So idiots like these two don't get in." Nabuko grunted. Kyo clenched his fist and prepared to punch Nabuko.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru shouted. She took a step forward to stop him, but ended up tripping and falling on to him.

"Stupid cat." I mumbled as the air was filled with orange smoke. When the smoke cleared, Tohru was on top of Kyo, who was now a cat.

"I knew it!" Sakura shouted as she picked up Kyo.

"Um...oh...ahh...where's Kyo?" Tohru tried to cover. Yukiko looked me up and down.

"You smell like a rat." She informed. I backed away from her. The arctic fox growled. "No Fuz!" She barked.

"You...can understand the fox?" I asked slowly. Yukiko nodded.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Kyo shouted. Sakura smiled.

"There's more people like you than you think." She explained as she began to pet Kyo. He growled and jumped out of her arms. Tohru looked at them strangely.

"You're...cursed to?" Tohru asked. Sakura nodded.

"I'm the Eagle, Yukiko is the Fox," Sakura began to explain. I looked at the arctic fox. That explains why it followed her around. "Nabuko is the Mustang, Akiko is the Owl, and Kura here is the Ferret." I looked at Nabuko, who was glaring at me.

"Isn't a Mustang a type of Horse?" I asked. Nabuko grunted.

"Mustangs and Horses are similar, but they are considered different. Nabuko here is the twin sister of the Horse." Akiko explained. Nabuko popped her neck.

"Wait, so she's our cousin?!" Kyo shouted. Nabuko growled.

"My parents disowned me from being a Sohma! I'm not related to you!" She shouted.

"Kyo, I would suggest going inside with your clothes. You'll probably change back soon." Sakura suggested. Kyo grabbed his clothes and ran into the house.

"Stupid cat." I muttered. I turned to Yukiko. "I'm still mad at you for tossing me into that dumpster." Yukiko laughed.

"What was it like?" She asked.

"Disgusting, with a few things inside that I will not mention." I retorted. Yukiko laughed again.

"Just to think, I have beaten the Almighty Rat of the Chinese Zodiac!" Yukiko howled. I clenched my fist and swung at her. She easily caught my fist and glared at me.

"You should know better than to pick a fight with her." Kura chided. Yukiko tightened her grip on me and started running, dragging me painfully along. She stopped for a split second, then sent me flying almost straight up. I flew into a tree, barely managing to grab onto a branch before I fell.

"S-S-Sohma-cun!" Tohru shouted. I looked down. Yukiko had thrown me to the top of a tree that was three times as tall as her house.

"Yuki, can you get down?" Nabuko called. Kyo came out of the house, normal and fully dressed.

"What's that damn rat doing up there?" He asked.

"I threw him into a tree." Yukiko stated.

"Guys, I think he's scared of heights." Kura announced. I was looking down, paralyzed with fear.

"Oh boy," Akiko groaned.

**Akiko's POV:**

"How are we going to get him down?!" Tohru panicked. I looked at Sakura. She sighed.

"We don't have a ladder, and it would be bad to climb the tree, so it looks like we'll have to." She stated, reading my mind.

"How are we going to transform this time?" I asked Sakura sighed and hit me in a bunch of places, somehow all at the same time. I gasped as I transformed.

"What the…" Yukiko was cut off when Sakura did the same thing to herself. She transformed into the Eagle, then we flew up to the tree.

"Yuki, you have to trust us!" Sakura called. Yuki looked at us, then nodded. I grabbed one of his arms with my feet while Sakura did the same with his other arm. We grunted as we managed to lift Yuki into the sky.

"They're really doing it!" Kura cheered! I looked down. We were flying over the lake that Sakura had made in our backyard.

"Okay, we're going to descend slowly wo we don't give him a heart attack." Sakura ordered. At that exact moment, we changed back.

"Crrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuudddddddddddddd!" I screamed. Sakura was remaining calm, but Yuki was screaming like a little girl.

We landed in the lake. I broke the surface, gasping for air. Sakura was laughing. "That was refreshing!" She giggled.

"Refreshing? We nearly died!" I screamed. Yuki swam to shore.

"Kura, could you bring us some towels and dry clothes?" Sakura called. Kura nodded and ran inside.

"YOU TWO COULD'VE DIED!" Yukiko screamed. She went over to the tree and began to kick it. After she kicked it for the hundredth time, there was a crack, and it began to fall.

"TIMBER!" Nabuko cried as the tree began to fall. We all watched as the once huge tree fell to the ground...and onto Kyo.

"KYO!" Tohru screamed. Kura ran out, jumped over the tree, and handed us some fresh clothes and towels. We quickly dried off and got dressed.

"Is he...dead?" I asked. Sakura examined him, then sighed. She back away from the tree, then suddenly whipped around and sliced it. The tree broke instantly, allowing Kura and Nabuko to drag the tree off of Kyo. Sakura continued to examine him.

"Looks like he's mostly okay...except his arm is broken…" She mumbled. Tohru was panicking, Yuki trying to calm her down.

"Do you have a phone? We'll have to call the Hatori." Yuki said.

"Who's Hatori?" Yukiko questioned.

"The family doctor." We all nodded and Sakura led Yuki and Tohru into the house.

"Things ain't going to be peaceful around here anymore…" Nabuko mumbled as we all walked into the house.


	3. The Mustang Meets the Ox and the Horse

**Chapter 3**

**Fuz's POV:**

I watched the boy with purple hair. He smelled like rat. I liked rats. They were tasty. VERY TASTY. "Can I eat him?" I asked Yukiko.

"No Fuz!" She shouted.

"What about cat boy?"

"That I'm fine with." I growled and tackled the boy with orange hair.

"KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL!" I barked. I snapped my jaws at his face.

"Get off of me you stupid mutt!" He shouted. He attempted to hit me with the arm that wasn't covered with his blood, but failed. I latched onto his leg with my teeth.

"Yukiko! Call Fuz off!" Sakura yelled. Yukiko sighed.

"Fine. Fuz, come here!" I let go and growled at Catboy. I flicked my tail in his face and jumped onto Yukiko's lap.

"I almost killed him." I whimpered. Yukiko began to scratch me behind the ears.

"I know Fuz. I wish you did." There was a knock at the door. Sakura stood up and went to answer it.

"I smell a cow. And a rabbit. And a...seahorse?" I questioned. Yukiko looked at me.

"A seahorse?"

"Yes."

"What the heck are you two talking about?!" Nabuko shouted. Yukiko placed me on the floor.

"Fuz says he smells a cow, rabbit and seahorse at the door." Yukiko turned to Ratboy and Catboy. "Care to explain?" Ratboy sighed.

"That would be Hatori, Haru, and Momiji." He explained.

"Why did Momiji and Haru come along?" Catboy mumbled. Sakura walked back into the room with a man and two teenagers.

"Tohru!" The smallest yelled. He ran up to her and hugged her. There was a bunch of smoke, and when it cleared Tohru was holding a rabbit. The man sighed.

"Momiji, you know you shouldn't do that," The man told Momiji. Momiji's ears flopped to his sides.

"But I wanted to hug her!" Momiji pouted.

"Now I'm going to have to-" The man started. Sakura walked back into the room with a tray with a tea set on it.

"You don't have to erase our memories, we're just like you," She explained casually as she poured the tea. She handed a cup to the man. "You're Hatori, correct?" Hatori blinked in surprised.

"Yes, and you are?"

"I'm Sakura, the Eagle. This is Yukiko, Akiko, Kura, Nabuko and Fuz," Sakura placed a plate on the ground with raw meat on it. I dug in. "In order, they are the Fox, Owl, Ferret, and Mustang. Fuz is an arctic fox."

"Isn't a mustang a type of horse?" Momiji asked. Nabuko sighed.

"No; the Horse is tame, the Mustang is wild." She explained...again.

"Who's this?" Yukiko asked while she jerked a thumb to the teenager.

"I'm Haru," The teenage boy introduced.

"He smells like my meat," I whined to Yukiko. "Can I eat him?"

"No Fuz!" She shouted. I whimpered and continued to eat the meat.

"I'm Nabuko," Nabuko said to Haru. She was smiling while playing with a strand of her hair, but she shouldn't be. Haru smelled like another female.

**Nabuko's POV:**

I continued to smile at Haru. He was pretty hot, and I liked it. Fuz growled, but I ignored him.

Sakura continued to pour the tea while Hatori examined Kyo. "I was told he had a broken arm, but he also has a bite on his leg and a few scratches on his face." He reported. Sakura sighed.

"Fuz attacked. Sorry." She apologized, shooting a subtle glare at Yukiko and Fuz. Hatori opened the bag he had brought and began to treat Kyo's arm. I sat down next to Haru, who was still silent.

"So, how come you came along with Hatori?" I asked him.

"Yuki explained on the phone that after a bunch of weird mishaps, Kyo broke his arm. We wanted to know what the weird mishaps were, so Momiji and I came." Haru said casually. I took a sip of my tea.

"So you guys are cursed like us?" Momiji questioned. Sakura nodded.

"And how old are you? Do you want a cookie?" Akiko asked Momiji.

"Yes please!" He cheered. Akiko handed Momiji a cookie. He took a bite and smiled.

"I've never tasted a cookie like this!" He said.

"That's because it's a family secret." Sakura said. "My family invented the recipe, and it's been passed down from Eagle to Eagle. How old did you say you were?"

"I'm the same age as Haru!" The five of us (Sakura, Yukiko, Kura, Akiko, and myself) looked from Haru to Momiji.

"You two are the same age?" Kura managed to mumble.

"I would have never guessed…" Akiko said quietly.

"Kyo, would you like some tea?" Sakura asked. Hatori had finished fixing up Kyo and now was sipping his tea quietly.

"Sure." Kyo said as Sakura handed him a cup. Yukiko suddenly snorted.

"Old Man and Momiji here are the same age?!" Yukiko howled. Sakura sighed. Haru suddenly perked up.

"What did you just call me?" He asked. Yuki, Kyo, Hatori, and Momiji exchanged glances. Yukiko frowned and popped her neck.

"Old. Man. You've got a problem with that?" She growled.

"Oh no…" Yuki mumbled.

"He's going Black again…" Kyo groaned.

"Black?" Kura questioned.

"Haru has two sides; a calm side, and an extremely violent side." Momiji explained. Sakura sighed and stood up.

"I'll open the back door." She said.

Meanwhile, Haru was clenching his fists. Yukiko smirked. "What the matter Ol' Wheezer? Cat got your tongue?" Haru suddenly relaxed his fists. He looked Yukiko in the eye, his own eyes completely changed. They looked...crazy.

"What, talking about yourself?" Haru taunted back. Yukiko growled something at Fuz. He ran outside as fast as he could.

"So you're stupid to? This is just getting more and more fun." Yukiko smiled.

"Be glad you're a girl, otherwise, you would be dead."

"It's because I'm a girl that I'm saying this!" Yukiko yelled. She suddenly grabbed Black Haru by the shirt and threw him out the back door. I stood up and ran out of the house, eager to watch the fight.

Black Haru was getting off of the ground, a small trickle of blood running down the side of his face. He whipped off his coat just as Yukiko tackled him to the ground. He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her off of him. Yukiko slammed face first into a tree.

"Why you…" Yukiko growled. She charged him, grabbing his wrist as she ran by. She dragged him to the fallen tree and slammed him against it.

Akiko suddenly screamed, "Stop hurting the trees!" Yukiko twisted Black Haru's arm behind his back and placed her foot in between his shoulder blades. Black Haru grunted in pain, then somehow managed to twist himself around and kick Yukiko in the stomach. She went flying into the lake.

As Black Haru stood up, I randomly ran into the fight and grabbed Haru's coat. _It's mine! His coat is mine! _I thought. Black Haru kicked the tree, then turned around to finish off Yukiko.

"I SAID STOP HURTING THE TREES!" Akiko screamed as she punched him in the gut. Black Haru went flying into the lake. Sakura sighed.

"I'll go get some towels." She said as she walked inside. Kura was cheering for Yukiko to die, Yuki wasn't watching (Whether out of embarrassment or shame, I couldn't tell), Momiji was eating more cookies, Hatori was preparing his medical supplies, and Kyo was laughing at Yukiko (Which was probably a bad idea.) I was clutching Haru's coat, breathing in his scent.

Yukiko had made it to shore, ready to finish the fight. We all waited for Haru to resurface. He popped out of the water.

"How...refreshing…" He muttered. Yukiko dropped her fists.

"Are you...still angry?" She asked. Haru shook his head and got out of the lake. At that moment, Sakura came out with the towels.

"Yukiko, no more picking fights with the neighbors!" She shouted.

"They aren't our neighbors!" Yukiko shouted while pointing to Haru, Momiji, and Hatori. Hatori began to examine Haru while Yukiko began to dry off.

"Then no more picking fights!" Sakura countered.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Sakura sighed and handed Haru a towel.

"Sorry about Yukiko. She can be...aggressive at times."

"Hey!"

"It's okay." Haru said calmly. He walked over to me. "Can I have my coat please?"

"Hm? Oh yeah! Sure!" I said as I gave him back my treasure.

"Well, it looks like neither one of you are seriously injured," Hatori said as he finished examining Yukiko. "But you might want to drink something warm in order to avoid getting a cold." Sakura instantly walked inside, probably to grab some tea. Why was she so obedient to these people?

**Sakura's POV:**

Everyone went home a few hours later after Fuz attacked Kyo (again), we had dinner (fried chicken and salad, American style), and watching a movie.

I was busy in the kitchen, preparing tomorrow's breakfast and lunch. Yukiko and Fuz were in their room, Nabuko was outside, Kura was sleeping, and Akiko was drawing in the kitchen to keep me company.

"I can't believe out of all the places we could have lived, we chose to be neighbors with the Cat and Rat." Akiko said. I nodded and continued to knead the dough.

"I think the others are here in Tokyo to," I put in. "Which might be a problem with Nabuko." Akiko nodded.

"Her family is nearby, and it's kind of obvious that she hates her sister with all her soul and heart."

"Maybe things will work out between them. After all, it wasn't Nabuko's sister's choice to send Nabuko away."

"Maybe, but it's a similar situation with Kyo and Yuki. Kyo blames Yuki for the way he is because the Rat lied to the Cat, but Yuki didn't actually do anything wrong. He didn't choose to get possesed." Akiko pointed out. I put the dough in the fridge.

"True," The doorbell rang. "Who could that be at an hour like this?" I wondered. I wiped my hands off and went to the door.

A girl with long black hair was standing at the door. She was very thin, put she she held herself with pride...not to mention she looked a little like Nabuko.

"Um...may I help you?" I asked.

"Where is she?" The girl asked.

"Who?"

"The girl with the dark brown hair."

"Nabuko?"

"Yes." I glanced at the forest.

"May I ask why you need to see her and who you are?" I asked. The girl remained emotionless.

"My name isn't important, and I want to see her." I felt something snap inside of me. I examined her for a moment.

"Your last name is Sohma, correct?" I asked. The girl was taken back by surprise. "Born in the Year of the Rooster, cursed with the Year of the Horse." I whispered.

"How did you-"

"It isn't important. Tell me your name." I said more harshly. The girl took a step back.

"Isuzu. Isuzu Sohma. My nickname is Rin." Rin said. I smiled. A bittersweet smile.

"You want to see your sister?" Rin nodded. I suddenly caught myself and took a deep breathe. _Keep her down, Sakura. Keep her down. _I sighed. "Sorry for that, it happens every once in a while." I turned towards the woods. "NABUKO!" I called. I turned back to Rin. "You might want to get behind me." I told her. She did so, notably angry.

Nabuko came crashing out of the woods much faster that a regular human. She stopped right in front of me. "What do you want?" She asked. I smiled softly and stepped aside. Nabuko and Rin stared at eachother. They were the exact same height, and their eyes were the same.

"What are you doing here?" Nabuko growled. She was tense, just like she was ready to attack.

"Stay away from Haru." Rin replied. I sighed. This isn't going to be good.

"Why should I?" Nabuko shouted. You could practically feel her rage.

"Because he's mine!" Rin retorted.

"'Because he's mine!'" Nabuko taunted. "Everything is yours! Mom and Dad chose you over me! They left me to die so you could be their precious little girl! I hate you! I hate all three of you!" She screamed. Rin suddenly lashed out at Nabuko, tackling her to the ground. I took a step back.

"Sakura? Who's…" Akiko stared at the two girls on the ground. "Is that…?" I nodded. Akiko ran back into the house, calling for Yukiko and Kura.

Meanwhile, Nabuko had been able to get back on her feet. She had a scratch down her face that was bleeding and a bruise on her left cheek. Rin was also up, her shirt torn and a bruise forming on her arm. Nabuko screamed and ran at Rin, managing to ram into her shoulder. Hard.

Rin skidded back, clutching her shoulder. She sneered as she swiped at Nabuko's other cheek with her nails, drawing more blood.

"What's going on?" Yukiko shouted as she ran out of the house. She looked at Nabuko, then back at Rin. "Is that…?"

"The Horse? Yes." I answered. Nabuko slammed Rin into the house. Rin grunted in pain, and then turned around and kicked Nabuko in the stomach.

"I HATE YOU! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Nabuko screamed. Rin remained silent and stared at Nabuko. This only made Nabuko angrier, causing her lash out. She charged at Rin, but this time Rin was able to side step and grab Nabuko by her shirt. She pulled Nabuko towards her and slammed her knee into Nabuko's chest. Nabuko grunted and fell to the ground gasping for air.

Yukiko took a step forward, ready to aid Nabuko, but I put my arm in front of her. "This isn't your battle Yukiko. Don't get involved, or you may make Nabuko your enemy." I whispered. Yukiko looked at me, confused, but still did what I said.

Nabuko got up and stared at Rin. Rin was walking away, the battle won. Nabuko's eyes began to tear up. I walked over to her and handed her a cell phone. I leaned in close to her ear. "You don't have to stay here. You can go back to your mountain if you wish, but you must answer my calls and come during the New Year, understood?" Nabuko said nothing, but took the phone and ran towards the woods.

"Nabuko!" Yukiko screamed. She began to chase after her.

"Don't." I whispered. Yukiko skidded to a stop.

"What?"

"Don't."

"WHY?!"

"Because she doesn't belong here. Did you not notice her discomfort at school today? Or her shame when she didn't know what a car was?" Yukiko remained silent. "Didn't you notice she was always glancing over her shoulder, as if she was scared?"

"Why would Nabuko Mustang be scared?" Yukiko growled. I looked at her, the wind blowing my hair behind me.

"She's afraid of the family that abandoned her. She's afraid of the Sohma's. Yuki and Rin are to, you can see it in their eyes if you look close of enough. Momiji and Haru know it too, but they aren't as scared. Hatori as experienced it; he's almost blind in his left eye, though it used to work perfectly. Kyo seems mostly oblivious to it all, though he knows it's there." Yukiko looked at me.

"How do you know this?" Yukiko whispered. I smiled and blinked.

"The Eagle has some of the sharpest eyes ever known to man." I whispered. "I never miss an important detail. Never."


	4. The Lion, the Zebra, and the Bat

**Chapter 4**

**Kura's POV:**

I sat up and yawned. A good night's sleep and another new day. Perfect.

I was about to get out of bed when I noticed Akiko on the floor. I poked her with my foot. "Are you alive?" I asked. Akiko groaned and sat up.

"Yes."

"Why were you sleeping on my floor?"

"I was trying to wake you up, but you wouldn't. I guess I got tired and passed out." I got out of bed, making sure not to step on Akiko, and began to dig through my closet for one of my uniforms. Akiko left, leaving me to change.

"Where's Nabuko?" I asked through a mouthful of bread. Sakura sipped her tea.

"First of all, don't talk with your mouth full," She chided. "Second of all, Nabuko has decided to return to her mountain." Yukiko nodded and tossed Fuz some meat. Akiko sighed and took a bite of fruit.

"Why did she leave?" I asked.

"She didn't like it here. She'll come over during New Year's and if she needs help. I'm also going to send her clothes." Sakura explained. She finished her tea and began to read the newspaper. I sighed and continued on with breakfast.

"Random question; how many of us are there?" Akiko asked. Sakura thought for a moment.

"Well, there's the five of us, then there's the Loyals, the Zebra, the Lizard, the Elephant, the Turtle, the Scorpion, the Giraffe, the Panda, the Fish, the Eel, the Mouse, the Deer, the Duck, the Penguin, the Bat, the Seal, the Moose, the Parrot, the Spider, the Walrus, the Insect, the Bear, the Kangaroo, the Rhino, the Frog, the Orca, the Narwhal…" Sakura stopped to think. "There should be a few more…"

"Alright, we get it! There's a lot of us!" Yukiko shouted. Fuz jumped into her hair. I took another bite of my bread.

"What are Loyals?" Akiko asked.

"They are the cats that stayed with the cat family instead of joining God." Sakura explained. "They chose the name Loyals because the domestic cats and tigers betrayed the family, earning the the named Traitors. The Loyals all posses the same person, but only appear one at a time. This generation is the Lion," Sakura said with slight disgust at the name _Lion_. She took the newspaper and left the room, ending the conversation.

"I get the feeling Sakura doesn't like whoever the Lion is." I muttered.

"Or the Eagle doesn't like Loyal's." Yukiko put in.

"We're going to be late! Come on you guys!" Sakura called. We placed our dishes in the sink and headed for the door. "I have a strange feeling about today." Sakura muttered.

**Akiko's POV:**

"Why do we have to walk so far?!" Yukiko yelled for the fifth time.

"Because none of us can drive legally and we don't have an adult to drive us." Sakura said calmly.

We walked into the building. "Tohru!" I called. Tohru waved to us, and we walked over.

"How's your arm?" Yukiko asked Kyo. Kyo growled.

"Fine." He muttered. Sakura suddenly perked up and began to examine the surrounding crowd.

"Sakura? Is everything okay?" Kura questioned. Sakura didn't respond and continued to examine the crowd.

"So, did you guys complete the-" I was cut off with Sakura running into the crowd.

"What is she doing?" Yuki asked. I shrugged.

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" Someone yelled. The crowd parted as Sakura walked past, dragging a guy by his shirt and hair.

The boy was about our age. He had dark brown skin and orange hair and eyes that were darker that Kyo's hair. He wore a silver choker necklace and the school uniform.

"Who's that?" Yukiko muttered.

"How the hell should I know?" Kyo growled. Yukiko put Kyo in a headlock and messed with his hair with her knuckles.

"Kyo," Yukiko said with a warning. "Your attitude is out of check. Straighten it." Yukiko released him, causing Kyo to fall to the floor.

"Yukiko! We have a pest!" Sakura growled. The boy was now covering his face with his hands.

"My beautiful face! You bruised it!" He wailed. Yukiko rubbed her knuckles into the boy's head and continually hit his "beautiful" face.

"What did you do to piss her off." She said, amused by the fact that Sakura could get angry. I sighed. Yukiko was much too violent for my liking.

"I was just ta-" The boy started. Sakura cut him off.

"You were being perverted to the group of girls over there Lyo!" She yelled. Lyo smiled slyly.

"You know you love it when I am." He said. I held back a laugh when I realized he was being serious.

"NO I DON'T!" Sakura yelled. Yukiko whispered something that I was barely able to hear.

"Sick him." Fuz jumped out of Yukiko's hair and was attacking Lyo.

"Yukiko! Call Fuzz off before someone sees!" Sakura hissed. Yukiko sighed and whistled for Fuz to return. He jumped into her arms and into her hair, disappearing completely.

"Um...who are you?" Kura asked Lyo. Lyo stood up.

"I'm Lyo Shizi, Chief of my tribe in Africa and this lucky girl's," Lyo held Sakura close. "Fiance."

"For the last time! I. Am. Not. Your. Fiance!" Sakura yelled. Lyo just shrugged and smiled.

"Anyway, I came to talk to Sakura...not the psycho with the rabid dog." Sakura did a perfect roundhouse kick, knocking the back of Lyo's head. Lyo fell to the floor, unconscious and giving him a small concussion.

"Sakura…" I started. Yukiko interrupted me.

"Don't you think you went a little far?" Yukiko asked. Sakura sighed and nodded.

"Come on, let's take him home." She moaned. I nodded and went off to tell Sensei that we wouldn't be in class today.

**Yukiko's POV:**

"Isn't he awake yet!?" I yelled. We (meaning Sakura, Lyo, Akiko, Kura, and myself) were all in one of the guest bedrooms. Sakura was tending to Lyo, who still hadn't woken up.

"No Yukiko." Sakura said patiently. I growled and punched the wall.

When we had built the house, Sakura had insisted on making it 'Yukiko-proof'. I couldn't break anything in the house; not even by accident.

"Yukiko, why are you so anxious about Lyo waking up?" Akiko asked.]

"Because I need to knock him out for callin' me a crazy psycho and for calling Fuz a mutt!" I yelled.

"I'd rather have Sakura beating me." I turned around just in time to see Sakura punch him in the shoulder.

"Lyo Shizi, if you don't shut up I swear I'm going to rip out every single piece of your hair out!" Sakura threatened. Lyo wails and covers is hair with his hands.

"ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Lyo begs. I smiled wickedly.

"I know you weakness." I muttered. I reached out, grabbed a handful of his hair, and yanked as hard as I could. Lyo began to scream.

"GOD DAMMIT YUKIKO!" Lyo tried to grab my hand, but I smacked it back. "Now I'm going t-" Sakura clamped her hand across his mouth.

"Shut up!" She ordered. We all took a step back. We had never seen Sakura this angry before. "You are going home and you won't come back!"

"But I want to stay!" Lyo says as he grabs Sakura and pulls her close. She screams and throws him off the bed. Just as Lyo was standing up, Sakura charged him and kneed him in the stomach. He went flying out of the 'Yukiko-proof' window and knocked down a few trees. Lyo groaned below us, probably shocked. If he knew how tough those windows were supposed to be.

"HOW!? HOW DO YOU BREAK A 'YUKIKO-PROOF WINDOW?!" I scream. "IF I CAN'T BREAK IT, NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BREAK IT!" Sakura sighed.

"I'm afraid Lyo's skull is thick enough with stupidity that it broke the window, not me," She explains. "Come on, now we have to drag him to the train."

"HE WILL PAY FOR KNOCKING DOWN THOSE TREES!" Akiko screamed as she jumped out of the broken window. We could hear cries of pain coming from below. Kura looked out the window.

"I had no idea you can punch a guy that far into the ground." She muttered.

**Sakura's POV:**

I sighed as we walked to the train station. Yukiko was walking on the side of the road, dragging Lyo behind her. Lyo was yelling because he wanted to stay and Yukiko was pulling his hair. I couldn't believe how we had met three years ago…

_Three years ago…_

_I studied my map as the Jeep cruised along. I smiled at the driver. "Are we almost there?" I questioned. The kind old man smiled._

"_Just about. Where are your parents again?"_

"_Back at the hotel. They have a small fever, so they said I could go without them." I lied. The man pulled up to the village._

"_You be careful now." He called as he drove away. I waved and looked at the village._

_It was a fairly run down village, but it supported about 100-150 Africans. I walked up to a lady who was doing her laundry. "Excuse me," I said in her language. "Is there a strange boy here?" The lady looked at me._

"_Are you like him? Are you like the Chief-to-be?" She questioned. I shrugged._

"_I don't know. My parents told me to come here and find a strange boy. Could you show me the way to him?" I ask _

"_If you don't know him than you're intruding on our tribal ground." She says " If you know him, then I'm sorry. He doesn't see anyone but the people in his tribe." She gestures toward a man standing just a little farther behind her in a tent. He grabs me and begins to drag me away._

"_NO!" I scream. "I need to see him! NOW!" I escaped from the man, but he wrapped his arms around me. In a puff of brown smoke, I turned into the Eagle. The man dropped me. I looked at the lady, my eyes glinting with anger. "Take me to the boy who can transform, or I'll hurt you!" I screeched. The woman took a step back. The man ran to the village, screaming for everyone to hide and bring the Chief-to-be to Abidemi's home._

_The woman, Abidemi, brought me inside her hut. "No one is to see the Chief-to-be unless clothed properly." She stated. At that moment, I transformed._

_More women entered the tent with clothes. I was dressed in something that, at the time, I could only described beautiful. My hair was pulled back and braided, I was wearing some type of dress with many colors in it, and some strange headpiece with tassels. Abidemi nodded, and the women left. She walked over to the corner of the hut and sat down with her head bowed. "Kneel in the center." She commanded. I did so and waited._

"_Make way for the Chief-to-be!" Someone called. I look up at the door to see a young boy walk in. He was tall, and his hair and eyes were the same shade of orange._

"_I was told to come here Abidemi. What for?" He asked fairly formal. He looks at me and his expression changed, from boredom to wonder. "Is she the reason I was summoned?"_

"_Yes Chief-to-be, s-she's like you. Sh-she changed into a hawk…"_

"_I'm not a hawk, I'm the Eagle!" I snapped. Abidemi began to cower in her corner. The boy took my hand and helped me off the ground. The boy smiled._

"_Do you speak English?" He questioned. I nodded. "Then let's speak that. How do I know that I can trust you?"_

"_I could say what your animal is." I suggested. The boy smirked._

"_How about we go to my hut and we can talk with my father around." He suggested. We walked out of the hut, his arm around my shoulder. After a moment of silence, the boy spoke again. "In case you're wondering, I am Lyo Shizi the-"_

"_Chief-to-be." I finished. Lyo smiled and laughed._

"_No one else but my father talks to me like I'm a normal person. It's feels nice to have you interrupt." I nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. Lyo held back a flap of the largest hut of the village and ushered me in._

"_Father! This girl claims to be like us and speaks English!" Lyo called. A man was sitting in a chair, reading. He glanced up from his book._

_Lyo's father had bright white hair with black stripes. His skin was white, except for the places where his stripe tattoos were. His hair covered his eyes, so I couldn't see them. The man stood up and offered his hand to me._

"_It is nice to have someone around here who speaks English. My name is Yuuto Shizi." Yuuto introduced. I shook his hand. A tingle went up my arm and I smiled._

"_It is nice to meet you Mr. Shizi. My name is Sakura Eagle." I leaned in close. "And I know you are just like Lyo and I." Mr. Shizi attempted to cover his surprise. Lyo stiffened._

"_P-please, call me Yuuto." Yuuto stuttered. I smiled and bowed._

"_If that is what you wish, Zebra." I said. Yuuto tripped over a stool and fell to the ground._

"_H-h-how did you..?" I smiled sweetly._

"_I'm the Eagle. I've been traveling the world in order to find all of the Forgotten Animals. I'm glad that I not only found the Lion," Lyo stared at me. "But I have also found the Zebra." Yuuto stood up from the ground._

"_Well, as long as you're not here to take us to a freak show, why don't you stay?" Yuuto suggested. I continued to smile._

"_It would be my honor."_

"_Father, she's very polite, just the way I like them!" Lyo said excitedly as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled my close. Yuuto chuckled._

"_And you can hug her without any problems." Yuuto added. I honestly had no idea about what was going on._

"_Then she shall be my bride!" Lyo announced. I pushed Lyo aside and took a step back._

"_What?" I said, confused. Lyo grinned._

"_No Loyal has ever been able to have a descendant to claim the position of Chief, but now-" I slapped Lyo in the face._

"_WE ARE BOTH THIRTEEN!" I screamed. Lyo lightly touched his cheek._

"_Feisty one, aren't you?" He teased. I sneered and turned away. "Besides, I didn't mean right now or tomorrow. I meant when we are grown."_

"_Lyo, you can't just-" I started. Yuuto suddenly butted in._

"_My son is going to be happy!" Yuuto cried. I noticed the newly opened bottle of alcohol in his hand and groaned._

"_She will be the pride of our tribe!" Lyo cheered._

"_She must remain here until she comes of-" Yuuto stopped mid sentence and took a long drink from the bottle._

"_I'M NOT STAYING HERE!" I screamed. I sighed and handed each of them a cell phone, and then I took off running._

_LATER AT THE AIRPORT…_

"_Hey Sakura, it's Lyo again. I know you're there, listening to this message while you cry with your undying love for me!" I deleted the message._

_Back to the Present Time…_

"THERE'S A DRUNK MAN IN THE ROAD!" Akiko screamed. I snapped out of my flashback just in time to see Lyo disappear into the nearby woods. I sighed and turned to find Yukiko cussing the heck out of a random guy in the road.

"Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy how I wonder what you are!" The man sang off key. I walked up to the man and pushed the hair out of his eyes. Brown. And he had striped tattoos.

"Yuuto... YOU IDIOT!" I screamed while smacking him upside the head.

"What did I do?" Yuuto asked.

"YOU'RE DRUNK AGAIN AND YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!"

"AND I TRIPPED OVER YOU!" Yukiko screamed.

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Yuuto screamed back. I sighed.

"This day just keeps getting worse and-" I was cut off by a scream in the distance, followed by howling.

"Someone broke into the house!" Yukiko yelled.

"How?" Kura questioned.

"Well, there is that broken window…" Akiko reminded.

"Yukiko," I commanded. "You bring Yuuto. Lyo will end up following us." Yukiko threw Yuuto over her shoulder, and we all took off running back to the house.

**Kura's POV:**

When we finally reached the house, Fuz was barking at something on the roof. Yukiko dropped Yuuto, causing him to yell at her, causing her to punch him so hard, and finally causing Yuuto fell asleep.

I ran through the open door and searched the house. "Whoever was here stole a lot of food!" I reported. Sakura sighed.

"Can this day possibly get any worse?" She whispered. I walked up to her and shrugged.

"HEADS UP!" Yukiko yelled. Sakura and I ducked and covered our heads as Yukiko jumped over us.

"What was-" I started. Sakura gasped and ran to Yukiko.

"Kayte?!" She questioned. Yukiko was holding a small girl in her arms. She had black hair that barely brushed her shoulders, pale skin, and looked about 6 years old. She was extremely thin, not wearing clothes, and unconscious.

"She looks half starved." Akiko noted as she took the girl from Yukiko.

"Fuz chased her up onto the roof. He said that when he began to growl at her, she screamed and turned into a bat. Her clothes are probably inside." Yukiko reported.

"Oh Kayte." Sakura whispered. Kayte opened her eyes, which were a dark grey color.

"S-S-Sakura?" Kayte mumbled. Sakura nodded and gently touched Kayte's cheek.

"It's okay Kayte. You're safe now." Kayte nodded and relaxed a bit.

"I'll go get her some fresh clothes and prepare her bedroom!" Akiko called as she ran into the house.

"I'll go make some stew and take Yuuto in!" I offered as I headed for the kitchen, dragging Yuuto along.

**Yukiko's POV:**

Fuz stared at Kayte for a second, then started barking again. Kayte clutched my shirt and began to tremble. "KILL INTRUDER KILL INTRUDER KILL INTRUDER!" Fuz howled. Kayte screamed, and in a puff of black smoke, turned into a small fruit bat. She let go of my shirt and began flying back up to the roof.

"Bad Fuz! She's a friend!" I yelled. Fuz whimpered.

"Sorry. I didn't know." I sighed and turned to Sakura.

"I'll start climbing." I groaned. Sakura nodded and watched me as I began to climb. I took a deep breath and tried to sound gentle. "Come on Kayte. It's okay, it's okay. Fuz won't hurt you. He's just excited." I said gently.

"H-h-h-h-he tr-tr-tr-tried t-t-t-to ea-ea-ea-eat m-m-m-me!" Kayte stuttered. I reached the third floor and slowly reached out to grab her.

"It's okay, he didn't know you were a friend. He'll be much nicer now."

"INTRUDER!" Fuz howled. I looked down at him.

"Fuz! Sit and heel!" I commanded. He whimpered and sat down, staring at the woods. I shook my head in disappointment. I focused on Kayte again.

"Are you sure he won't hurt me?" She whispered. I nodded.

"Positive. Now just come-" At that moment, Kayte turned back. I grabbed her wrist just as she was about to fall. She was screaming her head off. I tossed her in the air, then caught her so my arm was around. "See? Everything's okay."

"Yukiko?!" Someone hollered. I glanced down and saw Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, and a random man below me.

"What the hell are you doing up there?!" Kyo shouted.

"Just trying to save a little girl. Kyo, catch her!" I shouted. I looked at Kayte. "Do you trust me?" I asked. Kayte nodded, then allowed herself to slip from my arms. She fell right into Kyo's arm (he was still wearing the sling for his broken arm.) "Tohru, could you take her inside?" I called. Tohru nodded, took Kayte from Kyo, and led her inside. I jumped to the ground. Then I noticed something. "Wait a minute, where's Sakura? And who's that? Why are you here?" I questioned Yuki and Kyo.

"We heard the screaming and came to see if something was wrong." Yuki explained.

"I'm Shigure!" Shigure cheered. "It's a pleasure to mee-" I punched Shigure in the gut.

"THE LAST THING WE NEED IS ANOTHER PERVERT!" I screamed. I took a deep breath and looked at Fuz. "Fuz, where did Sakura go?"

"The one who smelled like lion came, knocked her out, threw her over his shoulder, and ran into the woods. They're already three miles out, due west!" Fuz reported.

"So _that's_ who the 'intruder' was!" I groaned. I turned to Kyo and Yuki. "Yuki, because you're more useful at the moment, you can come with me to save Sakura. Kyo, you take Shigure inside and explain to the others what's going on." Kyo looked like he wanted to argue, but decided against it and began to drag Shigure inside.

"You're mean!" Shigure complained like a little child. I rolled my eyes.

"Fuz, hunt!" I commanded. Fuz took off with us following him.

"So, what happened to Sakura?" Yuki asked. Fuz had slowed down to a trot, sniffing around, trying to figure out which way Lyo went with Sakura.

"You remember that guy from earlier today? The one Sakura knocked out?"

"Yes."

"He's another Forgotten, the Lion. His father is the Zebra. His name is Lyo, and he has some weird obsession with Sakura."

"So it's like Kagura with Kyo." Yuki mumbled.

"Who?"

"Kagura. She's the Boar of the Chinese Zodiac and shows her emotions in...violent...ways. She's obsessed with marrying Kyo." Yuki explained. I burst out laughing.

"Kyo? Getting married?" I howled. Fuz began to whimper. "What is it Fuz?" I asked.

"I can't find the scent. It's gone!" Fuz whined. I looked at the small creek.

"Lyo must have gone through the creek so Fuz would lose his scent." Yuki observed. I grinned.

"But this creek is really muddy. See?" I pointed to the other side of the creek, where Lyo's foot prints (I think he lost his shoes) could be seen.

We followed Lyo's tracks and scent until we came to a network of caves. Fuz began to whimper again. "The scent is coming from all of them!" He whimpered.

"How..?" Yuki began. I cut him off.

"No time to wonder. Split up and search the caves!" I ordered. The three of us took off in different directions. I ran through the caves, trying to figure out which way to go and how Lyo found these caves. Now that I think of it, how was he able to find us, our exact town, and our school?!

I skidded to halt, almost running into Yuki. "The caves...are intertwined…" He panted. I nodded. Fuz began to howl.

"Found them!" He cried. Yuki and I followed the howls until we reached Fuz.

"Where are they?" I asked anxiously.

"There's a faint glow coming from the south west!" Fuz reported. I looked down the tunnel and saw a faint orange glow.

"He...must have...set a...smokeless...fire…" Yuki panted. I looked at him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"My... bronchial tubes...are weak…"

"What?"

"I...have...asthma." Yuki explained. I studied Yuki for a moment.

"You stay here and catch your breath," I ordered. "Fuz and I will go get Sakura." Yuki nodded, then sat down.

Fuz and I crept down the tunnel, the light growing brighter and brighter. Eventually, we came to a small cavern. Lyo and Sakura were laying in the corner. Sakura was still unconscious, and Lyo was taking advantage of it. He was holding her as close to him as possible, his arms wrapped around her waist, his face in her hair, and he occasionally licked her ear. He touched her gently, either out of fear that she would wake up, or just naturally; I don't know.

Sakura was completely emotionless, like she was Sleeping Beauty or something. Every once in a while she was twitch as if she was trying to wake up, but couldn't. I looked at Fuz. He was watching, confused. "Are you ready?" I whispered. Fuz nodded. "Then attack!"

**Yuki's POV:**

I took deep breaths, trying my best to clear my head. I heard a boy's scream, probably Lyo. "NO! NOT THE HAIR!"

"YOU WILL PAY FOR KIDNAPPING SAKURA!" Yukiko yelled. Lyo continued to scream in pain, Fuz barking and growling like crazy. Lyo grunted in pain, and then there was a thud. Someone else screamed, I'm assuming it was Sakura.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME YOU PERVERT!?"

"NOTHING! I SWEAR!" Lyo screamed.

"LIES!" Yukiko screamed. Lyo grunted in pain again. The light went out. Sakura began to scream again. "FUZ! ATTACK HIM BEFORE HE GETS AWAY!" Fuz howled, and I heard Lyo cry out in pain.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU IDIOT!" Sakura screamed.

"NO!" Lyo shouted back.

"YUKI! HE'S COMING YOUR WAY!" Yukiko yelled. I quickly stuck out my leg, causing Lyo to trip over it.

"JUST LET ME TAKE MY BRIDE!" Lyo yelled. Sakura kicked him in the head.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT YOUR BRIDE!" She screamed. Yukiko and Fuz came running up.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Yukiko asked.

"No. I'm going to have to go home, take a bath, burn these clothes, and try to forget everything about today." I prodded Lyo with my foot.

"Is he another Forgotten?" I asked. Sakura nodded.

"He's the Lion."

"Hey, Sakura?" Yukiko asked.

"Yes?"

"How does he keep finding you?" Sakura sighed.

"I have no idea. There is no tracking device on my cell phone, I never use checks or leave my name at a hotel or store, and I've been everywhere. I think I need to go see a doctor and get an x-ray, see if he planted a tracking chip on me." Yukiko tossed Lyo over her shoulder.

"Want to go home and take care of three perverts, a half starved girl, and our friends?" Yukiko asked.

"Wait, three perverts?"

"You don't want to know." I stated.

**Akiko's POV:**

"So you have read my book, _Summer-Colored Sigh_?"

"I've read all of your books! They are all so wonderfully detailed and such amazing sense of drama!"

"All my books?! Where do you find the time?!"

"We're always on some sort of vehicle, trying to find Sakura. I have plenty of free time."

"They sound like two old ladies who are enjoying tea!" Kura hissed to me. I nodded, scarred for life by their very long conversation. Shigure Sohma was apparently an author of romance novels, including dirty ones, and Yuuto was his biggest fan. They had just finished a long, and very detailed, conversation about _Summer-Colored Sigh_. Kyo had dragged Tohru away a while ago, and now she was making dinner for us.

Yukiko burst through the door, sopping wet. I glanced outside. It had begun to rain.

"Found them!" Yukiko yelled. Lyo was unconscious and over her shoulder, and Sakura was helping Yuki through the door.

"Another asthma attack, Yuki?" Shigure asked. Yuki nodded. "I'll send for Hatori."

"While he's here, do you think he could check Kayte?" Sakura asked. Shigure looked at Sakura. Her school clothes were wet and clutching to her form, and she was shivering slightly. Shigure perked up.

"I know he will." Shigure said calmly. Yukiko dropped Lyo, waking him up, and tackled Shigure. She pinned him to the floor.

"I told you, we don't need anymore perverts, understood?!" She growled at him. Shigure nodded. Yukiko got off of him and began to shake violently, rainwater flying everywhere. Shigure left as fast as he could.

"Yukiko! Use a towel like a normal person!" Sakura shouted. Kura glanced at the floor.

"Uh, where's Lyo!?" She asked. Sakura looked at the ground and jumped. Lyo was already gone.

"Yukiko, could you bring me a towel?" Sakura asked. Yukiko nodded and bounded up the stairs. Sakura plopped down onto the couch and sighed. "I swear, Lyo will be the end of me!" She groaned.

"I have never seen you this stressed." I noted. Yuuto perked up.

"That because Lyo's been chasing me everywhere!" Sakura continued to groan. Yuuto nodded.

"We've been just about everywhere with Sakura. Can't say that it's easy to keep up with her, but we manage." He explained casually.

"HOW?! How do you find me?!" Sakura demanded.

"That's a secret, you should know that," Yuuto chided. Lyo popped up behind Sakura. "Oh, hello Lyo." Sakura screamed and jumped up. Yukiko came back down the stairs, towels at hand. When she saw Lyo, she dropped the towels and attempted to grab him.

"Hey! Layoff! I was just looking for something!" Lyo shouted.

"And that something is behind the couch?" I asked.

"No, more like in it. Sakura has had this for a while, so we hid a few things in it." Sakura looked at Lyo like she didn't believe him. He smiled and held up a small stack of books. Yukiko grabbed one and opened it. She gagged.

"What-what is this?!" She screamed. Yuuto plucked it from her hands and looked at it himself.

"It's a scrapbook. Lyo wanted these made in case we lost Sakura." Yuuto explained.

"What's in them?" Kura asked. Yuuto plopped down in the middle of the couch, the rest of us crowding around him.

"Just a few things from the past three years," Yuuto explained. He flipped the book to the first page. "This is Sakura when she first visited the village. The villagers tried to throw her out, but things didn't go so well."

"I turned into the Eagle and scared everyone." Sakura explained.

"That was also the day I claimed you!" Lyo said happily.

"I am NOT yours." Sakura gave Lyo the death glare, then went back to the scrapbook.

"I took this picture about three weeks after that," Yuuto pointed to another picture. It was a younger Sakura looking annoyed as a younger Lyo hugged her. "Sakura had managed to get away from us for a week, and then we found her in China. Lyo was so worried that she would disappear again, he handcuffed himself to her!"

"Those were the best two days of my life!" Lyo commented. I looked at Sakura, who was drying off her hair.

"We were forced to share a bed, chair, space, and not to mention the privacy issues…" Sakura shuddered.

"Aw, you know you liked it!" Lyo said. Sakura looked like she was going to be sick.

"I was able to get away after snatching a pair of pliers and breaking the chain." Sakura muttered. Yukiko was giving Lyo the evil eye.

"What did you do to Sakura?" She questioned. Yuuto quickly changed the subject.

"This is Lyo and Sakura at Paris the next year. Sakura had broken the camera, and it took me awhile to get a new one." Yuuto explained. In the picture, Lyo had his arms wrapped around Sakura while he nibbled as her ear.

"They ambushed me at the hotel I was staying at and tied my hands behind my back. After Paris, I took a lot of self defense classes." Sakura mumbled.

"This is Lyo claiming Sakura's first kiss…"

"Wait, your first kiss was Lyo?" Kura asked Sakura. Sakura groaned.

"I had just landed in America when Lyo came out of nowhere and tackled me. Before I could do anything, he was trying to make out with me."

"That's what this picture is!" Lyo said while pointing to another picture. Sakura had her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied together. She was laying on a bed with Lyo on top of her, completely lip-locked. "I've discovered that if Sakura is able to fight back, she will. She just loves to act feisty and hard to get!" Lyo drew Sakura closer. Sakura smacked his side with her hand, causing Lyo to collapse.

"After that, Sakura said she had to do a few things and begged us not to follow her, so we listened...well, for six months anyways." Yuuto chuckled. Sakura walked out of the room, her face turning red.

"Do we want to know..?" I pondered. Kura shrugged.

"Why not? Continue on Old Man Yuuto!" Kura announced. Yuuto chuckled.

"Sakura had just finished three extremely important meetings, and Lyo saw her crying after the last one. She walked into a bar, and came out two hours later completely drunk," Lyo groaned and stood up. He looked at the picture, which was him carrying Sakura into a hotel. "She didn't recognize us at all, and was screaming her head off about her parents. She passed out, and Lyo took her back to her hotel room and helped her back to her feet." Lyo nodded.

"Sakura drinks?" Yukiko questioned.

"No," Yuuto snapped. "It was my fault; I had kept telling her that drinking helped clear away problems, but it only made more for her. She swore never to do it again." Sakura came down the stairs wearing fresh clothes and holding the wet ones. She handed the clothes to Yukiko.

"Take the scrapbooks and these clothes and burn them!" She commanded. Lyo grabbed the scrapbooks and ran, Yukiko chasing after him.

"I SHALL DO IT!" Yukiko screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lyo yelled. Tohru poked her head into the living room.

"Um, I hope you don't mind, but I made dinner." Tohru explained. Sakura smiled and hugged her.

"Thank you." Sakura mumbled. Tohru hugged her back and smiled.

I smiled to myself, then sighed. With Lyo and Yuuto around, things were going to get very...interesting...


	5. The Mouse and the Wolf

**Chapter 5**

**Yukiko's POV:**

I groaned and slumped in my desk. The past week had been tiring beyond belief. Our class had been preparing for some festival they do every year, Lyo and Yuuto had moved into an apartment nearby, Kayte had recovered and was going to a nearby elementary school, and Sakura's birthday was coming up.

The bell finally rang. "All right, get out of here," Sensei said half heartedly. I grabbed my bags and was halfway out the door when Sensei cleared her throat. "Miss Forgotten, may I talk to you?" I slowly turned around. Sakura, Akiko, and Kura also turned around. "I mean Yukiko, girls. You three are dismissed."

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Come on guys. We have to go prepare for the festival anyway." She said.

I looked back at Sensei. "Is this about what happened at lunch?" I asked. Sensei nodded.

"Miss Forgotten,"

"I want to be called Yukiko."

"Fine. Yukiko, you can't go picking a fight with Mr. Shizi every other day. You're lucky that his father isn't pressing any charges." Not true. Yuuto kept getting at Sakura, who would yell back how she couldn't control me. Then Lyo would slyly put in that they wouldn't press charges if Sakura would go on a date with him. Sakura agreed (against her will) and went out with him for an hour. She had come home later on that night saying that Lyo was unconscious in the car and somebody had to drag him home.

Akiko did it.

"Sensei, I've sworn to protect Sakura from pervs like him." I explained.

"I understand that, but do it a little less violently, all right?" I groaned.

"Fine." Sensei smiled and collected her things.

"Good. Now clean up the classroom."

"WHAT?!"

"You need some kind of punishment." I growled and grabbed the broom from her hand.

As soon as she left, Fuz jumped out of my hair. "Why aren't we going home?" He whined.

"I have to clean the stupid classroom Fuz." Fuz puffed out his chest.

"I'll help you!"

"How can you clean?"

"I can hold the thingy!"

"The dustpan?"

"YES!" I sighed and continued to sweep. This was going to take a little while…

_**Time skip: One hour later**_

I sighed as I walked down the hallway. I had finally finished cleaning the stupid classroom, so now it was time to go home, get something to eat, and then help with the festival.

"Do you hear that?" Fuz growled in my ear. I stopped and listened. There were voices coming from one of the classrooms. Male voices, including the perverted Lion's.

"The PSFC meeting will begin!" Lyo called from behind the door. I quietly pushed open the door and looked inside. I sighed.

"Crap, there's more of them now!" I mumbled. On the blackboard, someone had written 'THE PRINCESS SAKURA FAN CLUB' in all caps. Pictures of Sakura were taped to the wall, including a few from Lyo's scrapbooks. I thought I had burned those…

Lyo was up front, sitting on the teacher's desk. There was about 9 boys in the room, all sitting on top of the desks. They were all saying the same thing, which I assumed was their motto.

"Sakura the beautiful. Sakura the wise. Don't tell her of this, or meet your demise!" They all chanted. I sighed again. Great. Just great. A group of stalking perverts.

"Okay, first order of business today," Lyo began. "We are welcoming our newest member, Hikaru Fugiuka!" A boy with blonde hair stood up. "Vice President, please recite the rules of the PSFC." A boy with brown hair stood up.

"The rules of the Princess Sakura Fan Club are as follows: You must not steal the Princess' private property. You must not speak of this club when the Princess is around. You must not make the Princess mad or unhappy. You must protect the Princess from those who are not in this club. You must always give the Princess a compliment when you see her. You must address the Princess as follows; 1st years: Princess. 2nd years: Princess Sakura. 3rd years: Sakura." The boy sat down.

"Hikaru, do you agree to these terms?" Lyo asked. Hikaru nodded. "Onto business then! Number Four, please turn on the projector!" The lights turned off a slide show began. The first slide was of Sakura. She was wearing a beautiful dress with rose petals around her. Where did Lyo get that picture?

"This is our beloved Princess, as you all know!" Lyo explained. "Her happiness is our goal. We will find out her favorite food, color, lip gloss, anything we can about her!"

"Yes sir!" The other shouted. The slide changed to an elaborate drawing. Sakura's wrists were in shackles and she was surrounded by three demons. One was white, one was grey with black spots and the last one was black.

"These are the three demons that keep her from happiness and keep us from serving her! They are Yukiko, Akiko, and Kura Forgotten. There once was a fourth, but she is gone."

"How do we plan to get to the Princess, sir?" Someone called. I was still trying to get over the fact that these idiots considered Akiko and Kura as demons. I could see how they thought me, but Tree Hugger and Lazy Butt? Don't make me laugh.

"That plan is currently under construction, Number Eight." Lyo explained. The next picture was of our home.

"This is the Princess' glorious mansion," Lyo continued.

"I knew it was a mansion!" I muttered to myself.

"The whole area is 9 acres large with a pond in the back. This is by far too much yard work for our sweet Princess to do. I propose that we gather supplies and build her a gardening shed, and also take care of her lawn and anything else she desires to happen."

"Yes sir!" The others shouted. I smirked. I had been forcing Kyo to do the yard work, but now it looks like I won't have to anymore. The picture changed to me. WHERE THE HELL WERE THEY GETTING THESE PICTURES?!

"This is the most powerful of the demons, Yukiko Forgotten. You might remember her as the girl who threw Kyo Sohma through the wall on her first day. We must capture her at all costs! If we succeed in capturing her, our Princess shall rejoice and the other demons will have no power! All ideas are welcomed in this process." The projector shut off and the lights turned back on. "Any questions?" Lyo asked.

I slowly walked away from the door as the meeting concluded, trying to stifle my laughter. They really thought they could catch me!? As if! But, if they did, Sakura would be totally exposed.

"Fuz?" I whispered.

"Yes?"

"If anything happens to me because of those guys, protect Sakura, okay?"

"YES!"

_**Time Skip: That Evening**_

"Wow, when Sakura and Tohru work together, they're amazing!" Momiji cheered. Haru nodded.

"Thank you!" Sakura and Tohru said in unison. I groaned and stood up.

"I'm going to my room. Kyo, help do the dishes." I commanded. Kyo glared at me. I didn't feel bad about bossing him around. His arm had healed, and now I could be as mean as I wanted.

I entered the room, where Fuz was sitting on the spinning chair. I grabbed a popsicle and flopped on my bed, spinning the chair with my foot. After I finished the popsicle, I opened the window and climbed up onto the roof.

A gentle breeze was blowing. I took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. I closed my eyes and let the remaining sunlight warm me up.

Time slowly passed by. I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard someone coming up the road. I sat up to see who it was.

A guy about my age was walking down the road, hands in his pockets. He was pretty cute. He had broad shoulders and a broad chest. His hair was auburn, but wild. I watched as the boy walked up to our house. I jumped down from the roof and landed right in front of him. He didn't flinch like people usually do, which was kind of nice for once.

I looked into his bright blue eyes. "Do you know Sakura?" I asked. The boy flashed me a beautiful smile.

"Yeah, I know her. She followed me about a year ago to ask me a question. Does she live here?" He asked. I got into a fighting stance.

"Yes, but you'll have to get past me first!" I challenge. The boy looked like he was about to accept when Fuz came barking around the corner. "FUZ, DOWN!" I ordered.

"What's going on out here!?" Sakura snapped as she poked her head out of the door. She looked at the boy and gasped.

"Daniel! What a surprise! I see you've met Yukiko." Sakura said with a smile. I glare at her and climb the house again. I got comfortable and closed my eyes.

_**Time Skip: One Hour Later**_

I woke up to the sound of someone climbing up to the roof. I watched as Daniel pushed himself up and sat next to me. "You're Yukiko, right?" He asked.

"Yeah." I respond. "How can you climb up here so easily?" I ask. Daniel chuckled.

"I used to live by a bunch of cliffs, so I would rock climb without any safety gear on."

"Where did you live?"

"I lived in Utah, America. I used to roam the mountains with my pack."

"I use to live in Antarctica. Compared to there, this place is way to hot for me." I laugh. I felt easy when he was around.

"Antarctica? That's sounds cool." He joked. I laugh with him. He looks at me and smiles that cute smile of his. I hid my face as I felt the blush creep up on me. Daniel continued to laugh, causing me to blush even more.

"I'm going inside." I state. I jump down from the roof again and headed for the front door. I heard Daniel behind me. I did my best to ignore the fact that he was right behind me and walked to the kitchen. Sakura was finishing up the dishes.

"How was the roof?" She said with a gentle smile. I covered my face with my hands.

"Shut up." I growled as I sat down. Fuz walked up to the chair and sat quietly. Sakura put down the plate she was drying and sat next to me.

"I'll take it that you enjoyed yourself." She teased. I rolled my eyes.

"Who is he?" I asked.

"Daniel Wolfe. He's the Wolf. His father died before he was born and his mother abandoned him. He was raised by wolves his whole life...until I found him and lent him some money." Sakura explained.

"The Wolf?" I asked. Sakura smiled.

"Yes, the Wolf. You like him, don't you?" I began to blush again. "Well, I'll have you know that he's single and thinks that you're cute." Sakura stood up and walked out of the kitchen. I looked down at Fuz.

"He thinks I'm cute?" I asked him.

"Yep." Another voice answered. I jumped as Daniel sat down next to me.

"Uhh...I need to...go hunt a squirrel…" Fuz said as he ran out of the room. I shook my head. Really, Fuz? Really?

Daniel was staring at me. "So, you like me?" He asked. I blushed and hid my face. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! "You're pretty cute when you blush." Daniel teased.

I looked at him. Seriously? He thought it was cute when I blushed?! Daniel gently took my hands and pulled them from my face. "Hey, would you want to go out on a date with me tomorrow?" I could feel myself blushing even harder. "I'll take that as a yes then. Well, I've got to go," He said as he stood up. I stood up too. "I'll pick you up at seven, okay?" I nodded. Why couldn't I talk!?

Daniel gently took my chin and pulled it up so I was looking into the amazing eyes again. Before I knew it, he was kissing me gently. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and then he left.

I slumped back into the chair. I have only one thing to admit; I kissed back.

**Sakura's POV:**

I took a deep breath. "Sakura, are you sure you want to do this?" Akiko questioned.

"I have to Akiko, I volunteered."

"I just don't see why our class got stuck with a food stand _and_ entertainment!"

"We didn't. Kyo explained to me that last year Yuki was forced to wear a dress and that brought in a lot of customers. Yuki refused to do that again, so I said I would do something and Yukiko and Daniel chipped in." Akiko finished applying my make up. I stood up and took off the robe. I was wearing a decorative sports bra and a pair of decorative short shorts. Both pieces of clothing were a soft pink with silver lining and tassels.

We walked out of the classroom and out to the festival. Yukiko and Daniel had started their jujitsu match inside their special combat cage. That alone had already brought in a lot of customers. I smiled as I saw all of the lights and laughing faces. I had always loved festivals.

Uo saw me walking up and smiled. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" She announced into the speakers. "It is my honor to introduce you your other source of entertainment, Sakura Forgotten!" Many cheers came from the crowd as I walked up to the gymnastics beams. I took a deep breath and jumped up to the lowest one. From there I began to swing myself from beam to beam, doing somersaults, backflips, and all other tricks in the air.

I smiled as I continued to get higher in the air. After maybe half an hour, I made it to the tallest one. I gripped the beam as I put myself up in a handstand. The crowd cheered below me, a few gasping. I slowly moved my legs until I was doing the splits, then carefully held myself up with one arm. At this point, the crowd was watching with anticipation. I took a deep breath and glanced towards the closest beam. I gripped the beam with both hands and launched myself towards the beam.

I smiled and reached out my hands to grab the beam. I gasped as I missed the beam and began falling. I screamed as the ground began to grow closer and closer…

**Tohru's POV:**

I watched in horror as Sakura began to plummet to her death. "SAKURA!" Yukiko screamed as she tried to get out of the cage.

"Somebody catch her!"

"She's going to die!"

"Sakura!" Screams were coming from everywhere. Then, out of nowhere, someone jumped from a nearby stall and caught Sakura. The person landed on another nearby stall, holding Sakura bridal style as she trembled.

"Wait, is that Yuki?" Someone asked.

"Where'd he come from?" Another questioned.

"I'm right here…" Sohma-cun mumbled next to me.

"Eh?" I looked at the person holding Sakura. "EH!?"

**Sakura's POV:**

"Are you alright, Ms. Eagle?" My savior whispered into my ear. I looked up and nodded.

"Th-thank you Y-Yato." I stuttered. Yato looked a lot like Yuki, but his hair and eyes were dark grey instead of purple.

"Sakura!"

"You're alright!"

"Thank the heavens!"

"My bride!"

"Is she okay?" Yato slowly helped me to my feet as my friends came running over. Lyo was being followed by a small group of boys, which was a little weird.

"I'm okay." I calmly said. Yukiko tackled me with a hug.

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" She screamed.

"Uh, who's this?" Lyo questioned.

"That's Yato Mowse." I explained. Yato bowed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." He said. Kyo looked like he was about to explode.

"NOW THERE'S _**TWO**_ RATBOYS?!" He screamed. Lyo ushered his friends away.

"I am not the Rat. I am the Mouse." Yato corrected.

"Same thing." Kura put in.

"No, it really isn't." Akiko mumbled.

"You...you look exactly like Sohma-kun!" Tohru said in surprise. Yato looked at Yuki and smiled.

"It's an honor to meet you." Yato said to Yuki. I face palmed.

"Oh yeah...that's right…" I muttered.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Yato tends to...fall for one of the same gender…" I said slowly. With in second Kyo and Yukiko were on the ground, howling with laughter. Yuki blushed and headed back to the stall. I sighed and turned to Yato. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in China, getting ready to move to Africa." Yato smiled softly.

"Well, I decided to move to Japan instead, but my things were still shipped to Africa. I also came because I remembered that your birthday is the day after tomorrow, Ms. Eagle." I smiled. Leave it to Yato to remember someone's birthday when he was at his busiest.

That's when I noticed Lyo glaring daggers at Yato. "You moving in on my woman?" He growled. I quickly grabbed Lyo and held him back.

"Lyo, if you transform here just to attack Yato, so help me I will rip you to shreds. Understood?" I whispered in his ear. Lyo paled and nodded. I sighed and let go of him. "Well, I need to go continue my routine. Yato, if you need a place to stay, you can stay at our place." I said as I walked off.

_**~Time Skip: Two Days Later~**_

My eyes fluttered open as my alarm clock went off. I yawned and sat up.

Another busy day, and another interesting one no doubt. I was still sore from the festival, not to mention Yato hadn't appeared until yesterday, covered in bruises. I had asked him what had happened, but he told me not to worry.

I couldn't help but worry.

A knock came from my door. "Ms. Eagle, are you awake?" Yato asked. I yawned.

"Yes Yato."

"May I come in?"

"Yes." Yato slowly opened the door. In his arms, he held multiple trays of food. I blinked.

"Is all of that for me?" Yato nodded.

"Happy birthday Ms. Eagle." Yato said with a grin. I smiled back.

"Thank you Yato," Yato began to set down the trays. "It's unusually quiet this morning." I commented.

"Ms. Fox is out getting your present, while Ms. Owl and Ms. Ferret are cleaning up. Ms. Bat is assisting them." Yato explained.

"Lyo isn't here?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Ms. Fox caught him sneaking into here last night. He is currently at home, healing." I sighed. How far was Lyo going to go?

Yato stood up. "Take as much time as you need, Ms. Eagle. Today is your day off." Yato left, closing the door behind him. I quickly ate breakfast and got ready for the day. I pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorty shorts. I yawned as I walked down the stairs with the trays.

"Happy birthday!" Kayte giggled as she hugged my leg. I smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Thanks Kayte." I said. Kayte ran off, laughing. I walked into the kitchen and began doing the dishes.

"SAKURA EAGLE YOU PUT THOSE PLATES DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Akiko commanded. I slowly put the dishes down.

"What's going on Akiko?" I questioned. Akiko sighed.

"It's your day off. You won't be doing any work today. Period." Akiko explained. Kura poked her head in from the back door.

"Sakura tried to work?" She questioned. I nodded. "Good luck with that. Akiko is determined for you to have a lazy day."

"And **you** will be doing her chores!" Akiko told Kura. Kura groaned. She walked over to the sink and began doing the dishes.

"Akiko, it's okay for me to-" I started.

"NOPE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Akiko shouted. I sighed. There was no point in arguing with her. No point at all.

I sat down at one of the stools in the counter. Akiko suddenly gasped and ran out of the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later, holding a present. "Happy birthday Sakura!" She said with a smile. I smiled back and opened the present.

I looked at Akiko. "You didn't." I whispered. Akiko smiled.

"Shipped right from America!" She said proudly. I pulled out the three books that were in the box. The Shadow and Bone series. I loved this series!

"Thank you!" I squealed as I hugged Akiko. She hugged back.

"No problem, now go read for a while." I ran into the living room and flopped down on the beanbag, opening the first book.

_**~Time Skip: 8 hours (Sorry for all of the time skips this Chapter)~**_

**Yukiko's POV:**

"Are you sure she'll like something like this?" I asked as I held up the small box. Daniel nodded, carrying Sakura's other presents.

"I know she'll like it. You should have seen her when she met my pack." Daniel laughed at the memory. Fuz trotted alongside us.

"Can I hunt something when we get home?" He asked.

"Yes Fuz." I laughed. Daniel smiled and pulled me closer, arm over my shoulder.

"I love it when you laugh." He chuckled. I could feel my face heating up. You would think that after dating this guy for over a week would get me to stop blushing, but no…

"SAKURA! WE'RE BACK!" I shouted as I kicked my shoes off. Akiko smiled as she walked by with Kayte.

"She's in the living room, reading." She said.

"Yukiko!" Kayte giggled as she ran up and hugged my legs. How can such a small human being be small and cute at the same time?!

"Hey squirt. Do you have your present ready for Sakura yet?" I asked. Kayte shook her head.

"Akiko and I are going to go look for a present now that you are home." Kayte said as she began to pull her shoes on. Sakura walked in, books clutched to her chest as Akiko and Kayte left.

"Good to see you two are home!" She smiled.

"Happy birthday!" Daniel said as he handed her the bags.

"Hey, we were suppose to give her this one first!" I elbowed Daniel. He shrugged as Sakura opened one of the boxes and pulled out small collar.

"What's this for? Dressing up Fuz?" She asked. Fuz bolted out of the room.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He howled. I laughed and handed her the box I was holding. She placed the bags on the ground and slowly opening the box. Her eyes widened.

"You didn't." She whispered. Daniel and I smirked.

"Yes we did." We said in unison. Sakura slowly reached into the box and pulled out a little teacup pomeranian pup. He fit in her palm and was so fluffy he looked like a little toy ball.

Sakura stood there for a second, staring at the pup, the pup staring back. She began to tremble. I cocked an eyebrow and looked at Daniel.

"Wait for it…" He said with a smile.

"HE'S ADORABLE!" Sakura squealed. She began to cuddle with a pup. "I'M GOING TO NAME HIM SNOWBALL AND WE'LL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!" She continued to squeal.

"I think we just broke her…" I muttered in surprise. Daniel laughed.

"Naw, she just loves cute and fuzzy things. You should have seen what happened when she saw the twelve wolf cubs in my pack." He said.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" Sakura squealed as she put us into a choke-hold like hug.

"If you were really thankful, you wouldn't kill us!" I gasped. Sakura laughed nervously and released us from her death grip.

"Yukiko, could you help me take all of this upstairs?" Sakura asked. I nodded and grabbed the bags. Sakura followed me, cuddling Snowball.

I walked into Sakura's room and cringed. There were presents all over her bed, but they weren't wrapped. There were all kinds of makeup, dresses that would obviously be immodest on Sakura, shoes of different kinds, and other weird stuff.

I dropped the bags and bolted out the door. "Yukiko? What's the matter?" Sakura asked. I grabbed her shoulders.

"Do. Not. Go. Into. That. Room," I said. "I'll be right back, but don't go in there if you want to have a good day.¨ Sakura nodded and sat down in the hall. I rushed down to the kitchen, grabbed a trash bag, and rushed back upstairs. I stuffed all of the perverted presents inside the bag.

I was pretty sure where the had come from, but I had beaten Lyo to a pulp last night. How did he get them in here without any help, you ask? The Princess Sakura Fanclub.

I was growling as I walked out of the room. Sakura was playing with Snowball. ¨Lyo?" She asked.

¨Lyo.¨ I agreed. Sakura sighed and walked into her room, shutting the door. I took the clothes down to my room, where I would hide them and later burn them, maybe put them through a wood chipper to...for good measure.

I walked downstairs and flopped on the couch. "Let me guess, Lyo broke into her room again?" Kura questioned as she sat on the beanbag.

"Him and that stupid Princess Sakura Club. Those presents were so pervy...to think that they expected Sakura to wear that…" I cringed. Daniel laughed as he walked in, sitting next to me.

"That's Lyo for ya. Back when Sakura found me, Lyo played Tarzan and kidnapped her to the forest. It took the entire pack four days to find him!" Daniel explained. I growled.

"And what happened when you did?" Kura asked.

"Well, at that point, Lyo had hidden in a pretty tall tree and Sakura's clothes were ripped enough that she was only in her underwear and fending Lyo off with a stick, so I climbed up the tree and threw him to the wolves." I chuckled.

"Man, what I would give to see that!" I said. Yato walked into the room and smiled.

"Hello Daniel, Yukiko and Kura." He greeted as he sat down on a chair.

"Hey, you ever gonna tell us how you got those bruises?" Kura asked. Yato sighed.

"I didn't want to bring it up right before Ms. Sakura's birthday, but I was ganged up by Lyo and his friends after your festival." Yato explained quietly. Daniel growled.

"Because you saved her?!" Kura demanded. Yato nodded.

"They said something along the lines of 'She is our princess and such lowly dirt must not touch her.'" He added. I muttered curses under my breath.

"Next time I see Lyo I'm going to…" I muttered. Yato held up his hand.

"Please, Yukiko, do not get involved. I have the situation under control." He dismissively said.

"Under con-YOU DO REALISE YOU GOT BEAT UP, RIGHT!?" Daniel shouted. Yato put a finger to his lips.

"Sh...you'll disturb Ms. Sakura playing with Snowball…"

"Who cares?! She needs to know about this!" Kura groaned.

"The Mouse has always been at the mercy of the Eagle…" Yato said.

"So?" I questioned. Yato looked at me, his eyes calm, but somewhere, deep inside, something was screaming in fear.

"The Eagle has always preyed upon the Mouse...all of the Mice before me somehow displeased the Eagle, and were put to death immediately. I am to serve the Eagle with my soul. If I do not...well, you won't see me ever again…" A heavy silence fell over us. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, come on Yato. Sakura would never kill anyone...except maybe Lyo." I added.

"I didn't say Sakura would do it…we all know what happens at New Year's…" The silence continued to weigh down on us. The front door suddenly slammed open, Akiko and Kayte returning.

"We're back!" Kayte giggled as she ran in. Akiko was carrying in a lot boxes. I got up to help her.

"Thank...you…" Akiko panted. "Goodness...that child...has energy…" I laughed and followed her to the kitchen.

"So...what did you get?" I asked. Kayte continued to giggle as Yato bounced her on his leg.

"We got-" The little girl began. We heard a door slam open and someone stomp down the stairs. Sakura came skidding into the room, the aura around her dark and threatening.

"Did someone...get takeout?" She asked. Kayte giggled and hugged Sakura's legs.

"We got you all of your favorite foods for your birthday! Happy birthday!" Kayte cheered. I deadpanned and looked at Sakura.

"Was that reaction necessary?" I questioned. Sakura chuckled, embarrassed.

"Um...well...I just really love takeout...but it isn't the healthiest so…"

"American." Daniel coughed. Sakura flipped around.

"You're from America to!" She shouted. Yato stood up and helped Akiko put the food on plates. I watched as they unpacked giant burgers, salads that came with giant containers of ranch dressing, large shakes, a ton of french fries, giant bottles of soda, and 10 containers of chicken fingers. Akiko took a box and put it on the counter. I looked at the food in surprise.

"That's...a lot…" I muttered.

"Kayte insisted on buying the biggest things we could...I couldn't say no.." Akiko said in shame. I patted her back.

"Puppy eyes?" I asked.

"Puppy eyes." She agreed. A knock came from the door. Sakura got up and opened the door.

"Happy birthday Sakura!" Tohru laughed as she embraced Sakura. Sakura smiled and embraced her back.

"Thank you!"

"I hope we're not intruding." Yuki said politely.

"Who cares?" Kyo questioned. Shigure hit Kyo with his fan.

"Kyo, be kind! It is a special day!" He scolded.

"For a very special person…" Someone said behind him. Sakura's mood instantly went dark.

"Two guesses to who it is!" Daniel called. Lyo and Yuuto entered the house next. Yuuto and Shigure embraced each other.

"Shigure! It has been to long, friend!" Yuuto wept.

"It has been many years old friend!" Shigure sobbed.

"You two just saw each other yesterday…" Lyo muttered. He had a few cuts from earlier that had been bandaged. Yato walked over and began taking everyone's coats.

"Welcome everyone." He greeted kindly, as usual. A growl filled the air. We all turned to Sakura, who was blushing.

"I...might have accidently skipped lunch during my reading…" She said, trying to hide her blush. Yuuto whipped out a camera and expertly took a picture. The camera disappeared almost instantly.

"Well then, let's eat!" Kura cheered.

"Not yet, we're still waiting for someone." Akiko scolded.

"Who could we-" Kyo was cut off as someone punched him to the ground.

"You guys didn't forget me already, did you?" Nabuko said with a smirk. Sakura smiled.

"It's nice for you to visit Nabuko. Now, let's eat!"

**~Timeskip to after dinner~**

I stared at Sakura in disbelief. "How did you-"

"Don't ask." Akiko warned.

"How did you eat three entire burgers, ten chicken fingers, four glasses of soda, a shake, a thing of large fries, and a salad?!" Nabuko asked. Sakura smiled.

"Well, I did miss lunch and this is my favorite kind of food." She laughed.

"Hey, I ate more than her!" Daniel protested. I rolled my eyes.

"You always eat like that." I reminded him. Kura finally came into the living room.

"How long does it take you to do dishes?" Kyo asked, completely bored. Kura shot him a death glare and flopped on her beanbag.

"What are we gonna do now?" She growled. Tohru smiled.

"We could open presents!" She suggested. Sakura smiled.

"You didn't have to…" Tohru handed her a small box that was carefully wrapped in silver wrapping paper.

"It's from the four of us!" Tohru said while gesturing towards Yuki, Kyo and Shigure. Sakura laughed and gently took the present. We watched as she carefully unwrapped the present and opened the box. She reached in and gently took out a hair pin with a silver sakura in full bloom with golden leaves around it. Sakura smiled and quickly did her hair, using the pin to keep it up. "Thank you guys so much!" Lyo stood up, his hands behind his back.

"I have a present for you as well, my bride."

"I. Am. Not. Your. BRIDE!" Sakura shouted. Lyo shook his head while smiling.

"Close your eyes." Lyo commanded. Sakura deadpanned and blinked.

"Do you really think I trust you that much?"

"Just this once, just trust me." Sakura sighed, knowing that there was no point in arguing. She closed her eyes and sat still, her hands in her lap. Lyo walked up to her. I slowly stood up, ready to stop him if necessary. I couldn't tell what he did at first, but I knew that after that he brushed her bangs aside and kissed her forehead. Sakura instantly slapped him, sending him flying into Yuuto. She opened her eyes.

Lyo had placed a golden chain around Sakura's neck with a bronze pendant shaped like a soaring eagle. Sakura smiled softly. "Thank you Lyo." She politely smiled. Akiko stood up.

"Who's ready for cake?" She asked. Everyone groaned, still full from dinner. Kayte jumped up, her eyes going wide and shiny.

"Cake?!" She whispered. Everyone looked at Kayte like she was crazy.

"Kayte has an obsession with cake, especially chocolate cake." Sakura explained.

"You have cake?" Kayte asked again. Akiko nodded slowly, knowing what was coming. Kayte's eyes began to tear as she sniffled.

"Look away!" Daniel shouted.

"C-Can I have some cake pwease?" Kayte sniffled. Akiko was caught in her stare.

"Um...only if Sakura says so!" Akiko gasped for air. Kayte turned to Sakura, puppy eyes intensifying.

"Sakura..?" Sakura visibly paled.

"...You may have some cake Kayte, then you need to go to bed." Sakura said as calmly as she could. Kayte cheered and ran for the kitchen, Akiko and Kura right behind her.

"I swear…" I groaned. "Those eyes are going to end me…"

"I never thought something could be so cute and sad…" Tohru muttered, visibly shaking. Kyo rubbed her back awkwardly. Nabuko was staring at the ceiling.

"What the freak just happened?" She mumbled.

"Puppy eyes." Sakura and I said in unison.

"Kayte mastered the puppy eyes while she was on the streets. It's...nearly impossible to say no…" Sakura said. Everyone nodded. It was silent, except for Kayte's excited squeals from the kitchen.

"CHOCOLATE!" The little girl cheered. Everyone chuckled as Akiko walked out of the kitchen.

"Never in my life have I seen something so happy…" She mumbled. Kura came out a few seconds later with Kayte.

"She ate the entire slice...in three bites…" Kura said in awe. Kayte smiled.

"Good night everyone!" She giggled as she ran up the stairs. Sakura smiled and stood up.

"Who wants to head to the kitchen and play some cards?" She asked. Everyone stood up and followed her. "Anyone else want a drink?" She called. Nobody responded. Sakura shrugged and grabbed a glass. I looked around for the cards. Dang it, they must be in the living room.

I walked into the living room and opened a drawer, revealing the cards. I grabbed them. "Alright, what are we-" I was cut off by glass shattering on the floor. I dashed into the kitchen to see Sakura on the floor, tears spilling from her eyes. Her hands and knees were on top of the shattered glass, probably getting cut like heck.

"Sakura!" Nabuko cried, causing everyone to jump out of their daze. Lyo rushed to Sakura, picking her up and taking her away from the glass. Akiko ran upstairs to get the medical kit while Kura began to clean up the glass. I threw the cards to Kyo.

"Sakura, what happened?!" I demanded. Sakura began to sob violently into Lyo's shoulder. This couldn't be good…

"Sakura, you were looking through the mail, correct?" Yuuto muttered. Lyo froze has Sakura nodded.

"What's going on?" Yuki demanded. Lyo took a deep breathe.

"Sakura's parents are coming to visit."


End file.
